Sketch of Gerry

Sketch of Gerry from Danni Dawson's figure painting class
±9x12 inches Oil on Linen

I have had a very hectic week, and do not have another completed painting to post. However I wanted to share this composition sketch I completed in my Tuesday painting class. I like keeping current and posting what I have available to show.

This was a fun experiment; I am still practicing the “color study” method of Henry Hensche/Charles Hawthorne. So the under-painting is a variety of colors. I think for the skin tone, I started with cad yellow and cremnitz white in the light areas, and a cad scarlet and white for the shadow areas. The blue shirt the model was wearing had a lot of pink and purple undertones in it, so I first laid down pink values in the shirt area, and later laid the blue colors on top. To further differentiate the shadow areas from the light areas I applied different levels of paint texture. The paint in the shadow areas was laid down in thin layers, while the lighter areas have thicker applications of paint. So not only is there a color temperature difference between light and shade but also a textural difference as well. I think Manet was a master of using paint thickness to emphasize form and shadow, specifically the painting, The Dead Toreador.

It was not just the paint application that was fun, I also had fun with the pose. Compositionally I love this painting because of the hands, they are so full of expression. Gerry’s pose was set up to look like a business man just coming home from a long day at work. I feel the unwinding and ease in his pose, I almost expect to see him next reaching for a nice drink any moment. I know that is how I feel sometimes after a hectic day….