Thursday 4 February 2010

MACKY, 9" x 12", Mixed Media on Paper, 2010

This is another transformation from memory.

This time I actually requested to sketch this homeless guy for an agreed price for just 5 minutes.



The sketch looked very brief but I worked on the colour transformation a bit more.

Steps
1. I used a canson orange paper

2. Started sketching with watercolour with a flat sable for the basic parts of this portrait.

3. Start under-painting of the whole face and other features with burnt sienna washes of watercolour and olive green.

4. I introduce chalk pastel with broad strokes all over the face and clothes to block in the initial colours

5.I then move on to wax crayons to add expressive strokes and tie up the structure and harmony of colour all over the piece. I love these wax crayons as they are less messy and reveal more of my passion for linear strokes.

6. I then finish up with a soft black oil base pencil to add more detail and recover some of the drawing that gets lost during the expressive wax technique.

7. Call it quits........

14 comments:

Janet Pantry said...

A really expressive drawing, Adebanji, and thanks for sharing your process with us. Nice to see a colour drawing from you. It takes a brave man to choose Canson orange paper to draw on :o

adebanji said...

Thanks Janet!

dominique eichi said...

Love the color background with all the harmony of those colors on top. It feels as life exploding out of him in spite of his circumstances. I love it.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this with us, I love the mixed media you use and the effects. Just wish I could find these oil based pencils.

Stephen Gardner said...

Nice!

L.Holm said...

Fantastic. thanks for an guide to your methods and media. Magic!

AC said...

Very good!

Unknown said...

LOVE this! The movement, the colors all meld into a vibrant and delectable feast for the eyes! Well Done!

Christopher said...

I came to your blog just when I was surfing on this topic. I am happy that I found your blog and information I wanted.

Stephanie Berry said...

Great portrait...the mixed media adds so much. I'm surprised how well the orange paper works.

Olha Pryymak said...

very interesting last couple of portraits here, great work as always

Celeste Bergin said...

what an interesting blog this is! New follower here. love your portraits....sublime.

hmuxo said...

Love " Macky". Thank you for sharing on your techniques on painting..very interesting. Will be following your blog for your future paintings.

Diane Hoeptner said...

Great work! Makes me miss the days I used color pencils... Such dynamic strokes, like it a lot.