Reflections

Painting a person and his/her mirror reflection is always a challenge. You want to make the reflection resemble the subject, without them being too identical that you end up with a painting of a pair of Siamese twins.

The common approach is to make the reflection darker, cooler or less defined than the main subject. If you were to take a picture of a person with his/her reflection, you can observe that these attributes do exist, albeit very subtly.

The mirror

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas board

A brief lesson in oil painting

Here's my painting method, in a nutshell:

1. Draw the outline of the subject with pencil.
2. Paint the darkest areas of the image first. For example: the cast shadows*, hair and eyebrows.
3. Paint the mid-tones and fully cover the canvas. I try to apply the right colors and temperatures based on my observation. Generally, the human skin would be warm (lots of red and yellow), the cast shadows would be cool (usually dark green), form shadows* would be a darker hue of the warm skin, stubbles on the chin and sideburns on males would be cool too (bluish or greenish grey). A tiny area right before the skin disappears in the form shadows would be a brilliant hue of red/yellow.
4. I would wait a few days to let the paint dry. Then, I would make corrections as needed and finally apply the highlights (white mixed with a little yellow/red).

If I've been conscientious throughout the whole process, it would take me about four working days to complete a 16x20 painting!

*Cast shadow is caused by something blocking the light source. A form shadow is the side of an object that faces away from the light source.

Contemplating
16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas board

Can you hear me now?

Talking on the cellphone is such a commonplace (and some might say annoying) act that one would think that it would be the last subject for a painting. But in real life it somehow allows the bystander to discreetly observe the person, maybe even eavesdrop on the conversation, and capture an intimate smile or laughter which he or she didn't mean to share with the rest of the world.


On the phone
8 x10 inches, oil on Masonite

Waiting for summer

When I look at this painting, it transports me to the beach; I could feel the summer sun shining, and the sound and smell of the salty waves crashing onto shore.

At the beach
12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas board

Missing my pants

Painting the fingers for me always takes a while. Although hands and fingers may seem less significant than the face (in regards to figure paintings), they can actually tell alot about the subject. The way they're clenched nervously or opened loosely, close to the torso with both palms on the thighs or an elbow rests languidly on the armrest is all part of the body language.
The bedsheet in the original picture had floral prints, but I left them out as it would take too much time.


Too bright
16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas board

Hairdryer gone wild

Gone with the wind
12 x 16 inches, oil on stretched canvas

Paintings in progress - March '08

I'm currently working on three new paintings. As I have to wait for the first layer to dry before I put on the final touches (highlights, corrections, details such as fingers and lips), I usually work on a few paintings at a time. It takes about 1-2 weeks for a thin layer of oil painting to completely dry.
I just moved to a new place; I'm renting a room in a friend's house. So I've been painting in the backyard! Fresh air, natural light... but you have to watch out for bugs getting stuck on the wet canvas.