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*
This is an amazing painting!! You really capture the glow of the fire, and the portraits are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! It was a joy to paint these girls! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI've found your blog through your oil painting video.
The atmosphere of this painting is gorgeous. I love the little details like the popcorn on the floor, the sleeping cat or the pajama pattern. The emotions in the faces are really good as well. Keep up the amazing work!
Greetings from Japan!