August 2022

Portrait from Museum app

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I haven’t been making watercolors because I’ve been busy with… well, life. I spent a couple of weeks working on Katy’s writing shed. I finished the drywall, mudding, taping, and sanding, and I laid the floor. It looks great. Then I went on two overnight hikes in Olympic National Park near Lake Crescent. So I’ve been busy.

But today I’m back in the studio, working on portraits. I made this portrait from a photo on the Museum app. This app is a platform where artists can upload their photos (“inspirations”) so that others can draw and paint them. It’s a young crowd, with lots of selfies.

I used the techniques described by Charles Reid in his book, Portrait Painting in Watercolor.

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Copy of Charles Reid portrait

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Today I took a break from hanging drywall in Katy’s writing shed and went to the Wednesday meeting of Poulsbo Art League. We meet on Wednesday afternoons to paint, draw, and generally hang out together.

I used Charles Reid’s book, Portrait Painting in Watercolor, to make this portrait. I followed the step-by-step instructions he provides. Charles Reid is one of the most famous modern watercolor painters, especially his portraits. He emphasizes that a portrait should have some hard edges and some soft edges. In other words, leave something for the viewer’s eye to fill in. Don’t paint every detail, but leave some room for the imagination. Try to capture the general impression of the person.

I started off with a light gray wash, leaving white paper for the highlights on the forehead, cheek, chin, and ear. In subsequent washes I added darker tones, scratching out some areas of the hair and blotting some areas with a tissue. Pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

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