Previous to this painting, I had never attempted to capture the human face in a portrait. Nevertheless, when presented with the opportunity to paint a face, I decided to accept the challenge. Using my brother as a model, I took a series of photos using a lamp to create a clear division between light and shadow. The process of sketching this image was difficult in that, even after dividing the canvas into a grid, each groove and angle in the outline dramatically changed the appearance of the face, distorting the true expression and identity of my brother's face. I ultimately had to settle for a rough and basic facial outline, and would rely on the paint to give it depth and a sense of realism (n.b. the sketching and painting process is shown below).
Starting with a base paint of yellow, I used a light brown for the shadow on the right portion, trying to show the idea that it was just an absence of light rather that the actual color of the skin. Following this, I painted the natural skin color, a pale beige with a few dark blemishes. One aspect that was important to me was depicting the soft light transition on the chin and neck, versus the stark contrast along the nose. Lastly, I added highlights along the right smile line and below the eye, softly shading over the orange to make it appear more natural. The last components which were the most challenging were the eyes and mouth. I added various layers of red and pink paint to the lips, repeatedly scraping off the paint because it consistently has a bizarre doll-like appearance. I also struggled in showing the slight smile in the lips, which I ultimately could not depict because of how subtle it truly was. My strategy for giving the eyes and lips a more realistic look was adding white highlights, and going over the colors with a thin layer of brown to reduce the artificial quality. I am very satisfied with the glaze I tried to show in the eyes, and the representation of light and shadow. However, I think I could have improved in the proportions of the mouth and its shape, along with the curve of the cheek. Though I could not construct a completely realistic face, I think that the overall structure was accurate and I am very pleased with the light I was able to create with paint. My artistic process is shown below.
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Painting Stages
