Vantage Point: Step 6
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.
October 3rd, 2005 at 10:43 am
Bryan, I have How Far We’ve Come hanging in my apartment and I am waiting for First Heat to be framed. I am going to put them on opposite sides of a window, I think the distinctive colors of the two will contrast well next to each other. Your work for me is an artistic representation of my outlook on and philosophy of life. It expresses the idea of man as a heroic and noble being in a more profound way than mere words. The two pieces I have will serve as visual reminders of what I feel the meaning of life to be, achievement. Achievement for the individual as well as for mankind as a whole. Powerful is how I would describe your work. I look forward to following your career. By the way, do you have any plans to do a piece using a theme from The Fountainhead, specifically Howard Roark?
October 4th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
Lawrence,
It is gratifying to know that my work is being appreciated in the way I have intended it. The great thing about art, if you can find a piece that really makes sense to you, is that it pulls together so many abstract ideas into one concrete image to be immediately remembered each time you see it. It is one reason I was so interested in art, and definitely the most rewarding aspect of a career in art.
It sounds like you are familiar enough with my work to have noticed that I have a thing for architecture, skyscrapers and bridges in particular. They are symbols to me of many of the very ideas I try to put into my paintings. The Fountainhead is my personal favorite of Ayn Rand’s novels, in no small part due to its subject and what it has to say about artistic integrity. I have considered many compositions involving themes from the book, (A New Height is one early example) and I can almost guarantee that I will be working on just such a project in the near future.
Thanks for the comments, and I hope your prints continue to be a source of inspiration.