Diana Probst, Cambridge Artist

Self-Portrait in Oils, day 11

Day 11 was an easy painting day, in some respects. I avoided the hair and eyes, and added the background, for easy effect. I went with a darker shade than on the original photo, making it a warm colour to contrast with the towel. It is my intention to have a paler space behind the head, like the cast light from a different window, as an internal frame.

So. This:

Self Portrait, rubbing head with green towel. Eyes and hair are disconcerting blanks.After this point, I had a critique session with my tutor, and we looked at several points, some of which I had noticed and some not.

The background colour is similar to the shadowed areas at the front of the neck. This brings it to the same plane.

The blank spaces are throwing me off. I should stop being nervous and get on with them.

I need to work from several blow-up photos. Moving from one medium to another requires a lot of extra data.

I need to bring in the original materials, and get a better photo of the arm with the bracelet.

I need to get rid of the sooty look of the far arm’s shadows.

The far side of the T-shirt was closer to the window, which gave it sharper lines, but that and its colour are bringing it too far forward. It needs to be cooled down and defocused slightly.