I recently reviewed a portrait by Elisabeth who then wrote: “Thanks for the feedback!! …. I also found that the more I worked on it, the wider her face became. I kept readjusting the sides of the face where it met the hair, and then the neck kept getting longer and longer. And her hair kept getting bigger and bigger.”
I found Elisabeth’s comments particularly interesting and they describe a dynamic familiar to all of us: so often that likeness (or form) has been lost and proportions moved, as if by themselves, with a mind of their own! Referring back to to reference is of course key, otherwise the drift is endless….and this is what solved Elisabeth’s dilemma.
A second tip is to do as much negative painting as positive. Areas can only expand when you continue with the same process. We naturally tend to favour what I call the “positive brush” that is, painting the thing itself. The other side of the equation is to darken (or lighten) the space surrounding the positive form. I often find this most powerful in getting a likeness, particularly for profiles, whether they for be nose, cheeks, hair lines, and equally for rocks, trees, skylines…. the list goes on!
Break-a-Brush!
David