Sisters: Step 4
What I want to focus on in this step is the really good stuff: painting the figures. Before I can do that, however, I should address one last change to the background. Once the concrete was finished, and I was able to really start to get a feel for the overall color scheme of this painting, I realized that the cityscape in the background was going to have to be modified. I had planned all along to revisit the buildings and add a little detail, but not to change the basic colors. Well, I did both. This warmer, more atmospheric take on the skyline pushes the city back and makes the skyscrapers feel taller than before. It also feels a little softer, and fits the feminine, contemplative mood of the painting a lot better.
So, the stage is all set for the figures. Here is the rough timeline for their completion. Keep in mind; the objective is to work from back to front where overlapping is concerned. This means I only have to paint finished edges once. First: the faces and exposed chest/neck areas. Second: the white dress of the figure on the left. Third: the arm of the figure on the left and the hair of both figures. Fourth: the legs of both figures and the shirt of the figure on the right. Fifth: the skirt of the right hand figure, and finally, the hand.
In this step, both faces and the neck of the older sister on the right will be painted. I have included three composite images in an effort to show the overall progress of the piece as well as the process involved in painting the figures. The first image, quite obviously, is of the entire painting at the end of this step. You can see the progress of the figures and the changes to the background. The second image shows the finished face and neck of the older sister along with an intermediate step to illustrate the blocking in of basic colors I talk about so often. The third image similarly shows the completion of the younger sister with three intermediate steps.
With these images in mind, here is a brief synopsis of the general technique involved. I begin by mixing all of the colors I will need for the area I will be working on. In this case, only flesh tones will be painted. In normal lighting conditions, most Caucasian skin tones can be mixed from titanium white, ivory black, burnt umber, cadmium red and a hint of yellow ochre. The most important thing to realize when painting skin is that it is translucent. This means that its color is very different when it is in shadow vs. direct light. It reacts in a fairly complex way to varying lighting conditions. This is one reason so many figure paintings look plastic, and why painting from life, or good reference material is so important. Once the colors are ready to go, I block in the general mid-tones. I have found that, at this point, it is far better to err on the side of too-dark than too-light. Blending white into the color is much easier to do without muddying up the whole thing. Then I lightly blend the mid-tones. Next I work with the darkest shadow colors and begin to refine the shapes and contours of the area being painted. When painting faces, this includes details like the eyes, eyebrows, nostrils, creases in the ears, etc. Finally I use white to blend in the lighter tones, finalizing the forms and adding the brightest highlights. Often the very brightest highlights have to be added after the first layers have dried.
With this painting I took a lot of extra time and care to finely adjust the expressions of the figures. Facial expressions are amazingly subtle, and even with large sized figures like these (roughly 2/3 actual size) the width of the smallest brushstroke can dramatically change the effect. Having said that, I have never been happier with the expression of a figure I have painted than I am with these two. As Thomas Edison famously said, invention (even of a painting) is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.
