Art Books I'm reading: Painting Portraits by Everett Raymond Kinstler

Hello Amigos and... man is it cold these days! I can't believe how many layers of clothing one has to wear in order to feel comfortable (note I didn't say "warm", just comfortable. I don't like the cold!)
Anyways, I just finished reading another book on painting. It's called "Painting Portraits" by Everett Raymond Kinstler. This one (like most of the books I read) was also in my local public library. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It's definitely different from the one by Sanden (you can read that book review here). This book isn't so focused on color mixing and basic techniques as it is on professionalism as an artist and composition. At least that's the impression I have. Some of the things I learned (and liked) about this book are listed bellow.

1- Excellent images. All of the shown portraits are beautifully done. I also liked how he included previous stages of progress in some of them as well. Here are some good ones:

WILLIAM P. CLARK- "Painting Portraits" by Everett Raymond Kinstler

WILLIAM P CLARK- "Painting Portraits" by Everett Raymond Kinstler

2- Staging with Light vs. Dark Drapes. I thought I was interesting how he uses different color of drapes in order to stage the portraits he paints in his studio. I didn't know this, but he suggested it's better to use lighter color of drapes behind subjects with darker hair, or women, to add more delicacy to the portrait. On the other hand, he suggests a dark drape behind males or subjects with lighter hair.

ANNA BELLE HEYWARD- "Painting Portraits" by Everett Raymond Kinstler

IRENE DUPONT- "Painting Portraits" by Everett Raymond Kinstler

MILLARD MIDONICK- "Painting Portraits" by Everett Raymond Kinstler

2- Filbert Brushes. I don't own a single brush like these. They are bristle brushes that don't fan out with pressure is applied to them. Here are some used and new:

Filbert Brush via About.com

He says this is his favorite kind, since you can do pretty much anything with them, as long as you own several sizes. I'm excited to try this kind!

3- A Rag!!! In one of his portraits he describes how he did a wash (when you dilute your paint with a lot of solvent) on the prepared canvas WITH A RAG. How messy does that sound? A lot. But I want to try it. 

4- Not an "Alla Prima" Portrait Painter. This means that he takes more than just one sitting to finish his paintings. He works on several painting sessions with his clients and uses resources like photography and interviews in order to study his model. He also works on most of the painting at the same time. Sanden (the author I previously wrote about) said it was important to finish a section of the painting before moving on to the next one. Kinstler advices to work on the whole composition at the same time. I think I can do that better than working in sections. Because of my lack of experience, I may make a section look like it doesn't belong in the painting if I work on it later. I may miss the color composition and it looks like something "doesn't belong" there. 

5- Composition. Kinstler shares a lot of advice about the arrangement of the model and the background.  Because of his training as an illustrator, he's used to creating things, even when they're not there, not in front of him as he paints. He shows examples of created backgrounds with maybe "windows" that weren't there initially or different objects that simply enhance the composition (pillars, decorations, drapery, etc.) The key is to never make the background stand out too much, since it's not the purpose of the painting. He does a great job at creating beautiful compositions that highlight the sitter instead of distracting the viewer.

In a nutshell, this is a good book. Very different from Sanden's, but also very useful. Check it out!

Candela

Art Books I'm Reading: Portraits from Life in 29 Steps.

Hope you're all staying warm these frigid days and reading some good books! Like I said before, I'll tell you about the art books that I read. The one I just finished reading is called "Portraits from Life in 29 Steps". I found this book while browsing the art section in my local library. It was written by John Howard Sanden, who happens to be a very famous portrait artist who's even painted former US President Bush (and his painting is now in the White House), and many of the first ladies. I liked this book for several reasons.

1- Excellent quality of images. This may seem like an unnecessary point to bring up (given that technology allows us to have great images everywhere nowadays), but I've read books about oil painting (older books, of course) with black and white pictures. Not very helpful for me at this stage of my development! Here are some pictures I took of the actual book pages:

Nigerian Lady p.129

The Very Reverend Ned Cole p. 102

The Very Reverend Ned Cole p. 103

2- Pro Mix Portrait Palette: This was one of my favorite features about this book. It's always nice for someone like me, who doesn't really know what she's doing, when good painters share the colors they use and how they mix them to attain certain effects. Sanden shares here a portrait palette with the exact standard colors (the ones you buy from the store), and mixed colors that will help you paint portraits. How nice is that? He reminds the reader, however, that observation is really the most important skill here. Even though his palette organization seems pretty successful, he always adjusts it according to what the sitter (or model) really looks like. These adjustments, though, seem pretty easy once you have such nice arrangement of colors to work with. Let me show you some pictures I took of these pages so you get an idea:

The Pro Mix Portrait Palette pp. 38-39

The Pro Mix Color System, Lights p. 41

The Pro Mix Color System, Darks and Halftones pp.42-43

To be honest, practicing color mixing on exercises like these seem excruciatingly BORING to me. BUT... another famous painter, Richard Schmid (whom I admire very much... I'll tell you more about him later!), says exercises like these are a must when you want to become a realistic painter who's comfortable with color mixing. So... I think I'll be working on some palette "fun" in a few days. Another thing I liked was to see new colors in his standard palette, which I don't own yet (and I'm excited to get... thank you, Michael's for your weekly 40% coupons!!). These colors are:

- Chromium Oxide Green

- Cadmium Orange

- Venetian Red

3- Cool painting tricks: 

- According to Sanden brush strokes are like mosaics. Every single one is essential for the final picture and once it's laid on, it's there to stay. He doesn't encourage much underpainting in his Alla Prima technique (which means that he paints his portraits in one sitting). 

- Observation, observation, observation. You won't paint something you don't see; so, sharpen those eyes and start noticing things (and painting them).

- He actually uses bristle brushes (brushes with rougher hair) to apply most of his paint. He uses sable brushes (brushes with softer hair) only for careful details. I never use my bristle brushes... probably because they're half dead and rock hard! :)

- Fan Brush. Have you seen this kind? The brush looks exactly like its name, a fan. I've seen them at the store but I've never really owned one. I always wondered what they really were for. Sanden just told me (I make it sound like we've become great friends) you can use that brush to "fluff up" hair (not too much, though). Isn't that interesting? 

- And last, but not least, the placing of the portrait on the canvas. Look at these pictures:

Ta daaaaa! He makes it look SO DARN easy!

Shadow application (look at the different tones in those shadows!)

LOOK at that facial expression! Wouldn't you want to paint like that? I know I do!

Those were my favorite aspects about "Portraits from Life in 29 Steps". Highly recommended. Check out your local library system and see if they have it. 

Thanks for reading!

Candela