Jake at 13

This is a portrait of my skateboarding, grafitti-art loving, sweet teenager Jake. I have been painting and drawing him since he was little but this is the first time he nodded his head in approval of his portrait.

This pose is so Jake. He is often deep in thought and likes to discuss some serious issues like religon, the universe and Seinfeld episodes.

This painting is one of a 3-part painting demo I will be giving in April.

"Beyond Faces & Figures"--Celebrating The Art of Portraiture

Just sent out my March issue of "Beyond Faces & Figures". If you want to take a peak, you can find it here.

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Shannon's Portrait In Watercolor

This is a portrait commission that I was working on this week. At left is the full-sized value sketch and composition.

After meeting with the client and an hour-long photography session, we decided that the simplest design would be the best approach. Shannon is a very pretty girl who exudes a good deal of confidence and friendliness. Adding background elements or a complicated design may have taken away from that.

After tweaking the composition, I started layering the skin tones with quinacridone colors and transparent pigments. This kept a nice glow in the painting even with subsequent layers.

I saved the opaques (mostly Cad Red and Turquoise) for the end to punch up some dark areas.