Max finished

I was finally able to get back to finish this painting of my oldest grandson now that my second grandson is safely arrived and home. Being a grandmother is wonderful.

I decided to leave the painting a little impressionistic rather than photo realistic for the hair and shirt. The focus is the face and that is accurate. Now that I have figured out how to use these oil paints I'll try something larger but still probably a portrait.

Step 6

I don't know if you will be able to see much change this step. It was adjusting small details and I only had about an hour to paint today. I still have a lot of work to do on the hair but the face is almost finished.

Step 5

I worked all over the painting today correcting colour, values and messy work from before. I still have more to do especially on his right ear and eye (as you look at him).

Step 4

Today I finally figured out my technique for using oil paints. Things should go more smoothly now. I concentrated on corrections on the left side of his face (as you look at it). I still have a very long way to go but I can see how to do it now.

step 3

Another couple of hours work. Still working on trying to figure out the best way to use the oil medium. It's hard to get a good photo that is accurate for the colour. The skin tones are more purplish in real life.

Max step 2

After another couple of hours of work it's starting to shape up. I gave up on the way I was doing it at first and switched to a more intuitive way of working. Hard to explain so I won't try but it seems to be working for me. I still have a long way to go and it's still not fun but I'm just learning the medium. Still trying to figure out even the basics like setting up my palette, what kind of brushes feel right, and the materials themselves.

And now for something completely different...

I have decided to try switching to oil paints to see how I like the medium. I have always wanted to paint with oils but thought I would be frustrated with the drying time. We shall see. This is the first step in painting a portrait of my grandson. The skin tone looks very dark because his face is in shadow but I will have to adjust it a lot as I go as it is too red. I'll have to adjust the place I sit in my studio because the light is effecting how I see the colours. I'll try and do more tomorrow.