Portraits, and Other Paintings....

Hello and welcome back everyone!

In addition to the narrative painting that I recently completed, I have been working on other paintings as well... Portraits have always intrigued me, and some of my favorite artists were fabulous portrait painters - John Singer Sargent, Cecilia Beaux, Joaquin Sorolla - they each depicted the uniqueness of human features with their own, individual flair. I wanted to give you a preview of my portrait promo postcard that I will be mailing out rather soon :

Front of Postcard:


Back of Postcard:

(Click on the above images for a closer look!)

Here are three stages of the painting process of a commissioned portrait that I just completed of an adorable little girl named Kaitlyn:

Stage 1- Underpainting using ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson, mixed with turpenoid.


Stage 2 - Shadow masses have been painted, leaving the white of the canvas for the brighter, lit areas.


Stage 3 - Final painting!
"Kaitlyn," Oil, 10"x8"

So if you would like to commission me to do a painting of your loved one, please contact me! I would love to work with you. :-)

In addition to portrait painting, I completed a still life just this morning. Still life set-ups are always wonderful exercises in color, value, shape, and composition:

"Artsy Attire," Oil on Linen, 10"x8"

Finally, I have created some new illustrations - I just love the balance between illustration and fine art oil painting - newfound lessons I come across in each artistic realm are transposed into the other as I paint. For example, reflective color bouncing from the violet table onto the glossy flower vase in "Artsy Attire" made me more aware of the reflective color that would bounce from the cobalt water up onto the lower planes of the fish's lips and underbelly, as well as the boy, in "Freshwater Friends". There's never a dull moment in the world of art!

"Freshwater Friends," Watercolor, 7.5"x10"


"Freshwater Friends" detail


"Panda Pal Pleasantries," Watercolor, 7"x11"


"Cockatoo Comrades," Watercolor, 7.5"x11"


"Bold Buffalo Brothers," Watercolor, 7"x11"

I hope you enjoy the featured paintings! Thanks so much for stopping by, and come back soon! Also, please contact me for more information if you are interested in a portrait!
(aliciatemplin@sbcglobal.net)

*All images copyright Alicia Templin 2010*

Firelight Painting Completed!

Hello everyone!

Well, I have finally finished the painting of the girls telling stories by firelight. I wanted to share with you a series of photos that show the painting's progression - from the blank canvas to the completed piece!
I would love to hear any and all of your feedback on this new addition to my portfolio - I will be presenting it to a Dallas gallery quite soon!


Stage 1 - Underpainting : I use a mixture of Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue, with Turpenoid, to mass in the shadows and half-tones (the drawing will be refined throughout the painting process)


Stage 2 - I paint Peyton and the slippers in the foreground - At times I prefer to paint in the foreground first, because I know that I will be using the areas around it to 'carve' the final shapes and edges of the foreground character.


Stage 3 - I paint in the rug and deepen the shadows beneath the girls, in order to anchor them to the ground, to create a sense of weight, and heighten the sense of a strong, fiery glow.


Stage 4 - I now paint Emily and Sarah's pajama pants and socks - Emily and Sarah's shapes were linked in many areas, and their adjacent edges were reliant on each other - a constant push/pull between them to have a balance of soft and hard edges.


Stage 5 - Sarah and her bear are added - I allow for the dark shadows of the background to blend with the dark shadows of her pajamas and hair (as well as Emily's)


Stage 6 - Most of Molly has been painted at this point (her navy blue shirt nearly becomes one with the deep blue background, with highlights on the material indicating the form), but I have not painted her left leg, because I now know that I want to add a sleeping cat basking in the fiery warmth in front of her.


Stage 7 - Channing's body and teddy bear are now a part of this warm world, with only her face revealing the underpainting beaneath


"Captivated," Oil on Linen, 24"x36"
The Final Painting! Channing's sweet face, a sleeping tabby cat, a bowl of popcorn, and a polka-dotted pattern on Molly's pajama pants have been added. I then allowed it to dry to the touch, then I varnished the entire linen canvas with a brush-on Retouch Varnish, which unified the surface (dull and shiny areas were evened out) and brought all of the colors back to the richness they had when they first touched the canvas!

I hope you have enjoyed journeying through this painting process with me! I certainly loved painting all of these adorable girls - they were wonderful models and a true joy to paint!

I will be posting more paintings and videos soon!
Please leave comments, I would love to hear your thoughts!

*All images copyright Alicia Templin 2010*