Quent Cordair Fine Art

Work to complete the wall went much faster than I had anticipated. The under-painting was fairly complete as far as establishing the basic geometry and color of the concrete, and as I mentioned in the last step, all that remained was to add some texture and a few highlights. I did this with a relatively dry brush, and a palate of colors slightly lighter than those used in the under-painting. As with hair and fabric, the easiest mistake to make at this point is to over-do it. I estimate 60 percent of the first layer of paint is still showing, and a very small amount of the primer coat as well. The same goes for the mortar.

Before finishing for the day I thought I might as well sketch in a few perspective guidelines for the brickwork floor. I had planned on using a two-step process similar to the one used to paint the concrete, but as I began laying down the first colors, I realized that black primer color would work just as well as an under-painting for the color of the stone. I already had the basic colors on my palette, and from the beginning I had intended to keep the background as simple as possible so I decided to try and finish the painting. I was actually surprised at how quickly I was able to paint the bricks.

I used a little straight titanium white to strengthen the highlights on a few areas of the dress, and along the edge of the shoulder and the calf of the right leg. I spent perhaps an hour making small adjustments and doing general touch-up work, and then decided I was happy enough with the overall feel of the piece to call it finished. After signing and dating the painting, I sat back and spent a half-hour or so just taking it in: evaluating the finished product. As one of the most quickly painted pieces I have completed to date, I am extremely pleased with it. Up close it contains some of the loosest, roughest brushwork I have ever employed (in areas such as the bricks and the reflections in the glass), but it doesn’t come across as loosely painted. The work on the fabric of the dress is, I think, some of the best I have ever done, and I am similarly proud of the flesh tones and the overall posture of the figure. A very simple painting, but in the end, one of my personal favorites.

With the first of two passes over the concrete wall complete, I am satisfied that no additional work will be needed on the background. Even unfinished, the foreground wall has the effect of pushing the glass back far enough that a viewer’s brain does not expect to pick up much detail. The concrete, on the other hand, will need a bit more attention. I mentioned that this is the first of two passes I will make. At this point the general base color and the shape of the wall is in place, as well as the shadows cast by the figure. The wall looks more like clay than concrete at this point. The same goes for the mortar between the blocks. The second pass will add the rough texture over the top as well as a few finishing highlights and little details like the occasional small crack or chip that characterize structural concrete.

Completing work on the background building involved a continuation of the previous days work, again with the smaller brushes safely stowed out of reach. This section went especially fast since there was very little of the figure left to paint around. When I finished with it and stepped back to take in the whole effect, I thought if felt a little flat. I mixed some fresh colors, and starting in the upper right corner, brightened the reflections in the glass just enough to add some depth and a bit more interest. I also cleaned up the edges of the white horizontal bands between the glass panes, and gave them more dimension with a few white highlights. I am really not used to leaving things this rough, but I suspect that the unfinished lower half of the painting is making the rest of it feel unfinished as well. I have decided to wait until the concrete wall in the foreground is painted, and then decide whether or not to mess with the background any more.

My intention with this painting is to focus on the figure, and to spend as little time with the background as possible. However, I have a tendency to get very involved in background details. I decided to force the issue by putting away all of my smaller brushes. I worked as quickly as I could, painting just enough detail to capture the basics of the building. I had planned on simplifying the reflections in the glass quite a bit, but as I got going I found I really liked the effect of the reflections superimposed over the interior of the building, and so I kept most of it. The scrap photographs were taken in front of the Salt Lake City library, and you can just make out some of the rows of books in the painting.

As anticipated, the trickiest part was painting right up to the figure without any overlapping. Finally all that practice staying inside the lines with my crayons as a kid is paying off. Of course, the really cool crayon sets come with a sharpener for the detail-oriented seven-year-old, and I was forced to break into my small-brush stash to do most of this careful work.

The last remaining area to be finished on the figure is the hair. I had blocked in the basic shape earlier to allow it to dry before this next step, and now that it is, the rest of the process is pretty simple. First I use black and a very dark brown to sketch in the larger details, the most significant curls and waves, the final outline where the hair overlaps the back, and the line where the hair is overlapped by the shoulder. I have found that hair is much easier to paint well if I begin by thinking about it as a solid shape, instead of individual strands. I imagine a sculptor would have to proceed in the same way. I paint this solid-hair shape with a few shades of medium to dark brown and black. To finish the hair I use black and a very fine brush to separate out smaller sections of hair, the finer curls and details that make up the larger shapes. Additional detail is painted with a lighter brown in areas where the hair is in direct light using the same fine brush and following the general pattern laid out with the black. The brightest highlights in white complete the illusion. The most common mistake at this point is to add too many highlights, which generally results in hair that looks more like yarn. It is also easy to overdo the detail in the shadow areas. The real trick is just to know when to stop. In many respects, drapery and hair are very similar. Both contain an almost infinite amount of detail that can be easy to get caught up in. However, no matter how much care is put unto capturing the smallest and most subtle details, if you don’t remain focused on the big picture, you end up with a very carefully painted mess.