Singing a new tune – oil portrait painting on panel

oil portrait painting on hardboard panel

I forgot to take progress shots of this painting. It’s difficult for me to remember to pick up my camera or phone sometimes, and then I always kick myself later for not doing it. It’s much easier to take photos, and show the process instead of tell about it, but I’m going to attempt to do just that in this post.

I rarely write about my painting process because I find it difficult to put it into words. I remember someone asked me once how I blend, and the only thing I could think of is to tell her to watch my Youtube videos. Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing this forever, but I honestly don’t think about painting or my process when I’m painting. I never think to myself, now I’m going to blend, so I didn’t know how to answer the question. I just paint, and the entire time I’m thinking of something else. Mostly, I’m listening to a book, podcast, music or something on Netflix/Hulu. Documentaries are the best to listen to while painting, imo.

I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life.
Jean-Michel Basquiat

If I ever do get caught up in thinking about painting while painting, it’s usually disastrous. I end up over-thinking, and mess everything up, so it’s best if I keep my mind busy with other things while I work.

People often ask me questions though, and so I thought I’d make a small attempt to write about this painting. Maybe if I practice a few times I’ll be ready the next time someone writes me.

The palette I used for my newest oil painting included yellow ochre, raw umber, raw sienna, pyrrole red, cobalt blue, permanent sap green, and titanium white. I mixed several different fleshy tones from dark to light using the yellow ochre, pyrrole red, and titanium white. I made my own (near) black for this one by mixing the red and green together, and adding a bit of blue.

Looking back at it now, my palette probably only makes sense to me. Each time I paint, the palette looks slightly different. I mix the colors I think I’ll need ahead of time, but I also still end up mixing as I paint, also.