Using value and line in combination to arrive at a comfortable likeness: head shape, eyes and cheeks.

Throughout the course to date, I’ve focused on shapes, values and colours – blocking large spaces and moving toward the specific – if you like, “creeping up on a likeness”. I often say that my portraits are paintings first and that they then become portraits.

A useful check before detailing features

A useful check that the layout is appropriate is to look at the relationship between the center of the eyes (the pupils) and the corners of the mouth. Everybody has a characteristic face layout, such as wide eyes and small mouth, long or short face:

Exercise

• This is worth a last check before you proceed into any detail with individual features. At the same time, this metric helps ensure that the face is appropriately positioned within the head shape itself.

Tips for eyes and cheeks

I could have said eyes, sockets, brows, cheeks, bridge of the nose and forehead. They all work together to give someone their “look”. As we have seen, I start by getting the large shapes and values right and then work the detail into this base. It’s difficult to be prescriptive at this stage because with some portraits, I like to leave the eyes mysteriously unfinished. In my painting “The Woodsman” one eye had a big abstract drip, essentially demolishing it. No one has had a problem with this!

Method

When finishing the eye and cheek area, the points I keep in mind are:

1. Look carefully at the shape of the eyes. Few people have “almond eyes” with identical upper and lower lids – it’s the subtle differences in shape that count. With many people, the lower lid is flatter than the top, often more curve toward the inner area, particularly on the top lid. I always look for lights above the eyelid and also the degree of hooding.
2. I treat upper and lower eyelids differently. The problem is that when you circle something with a continuous line, it tends to separate that element from the surrounding area. That’s not always a good thing. I paint the upper lid with darks – there is often a shadow area in the eye with the upper lid effectively acting like a little shadow-umbrella. Conversely, the lower the lid is often light – perhaps catching a highlight or reflection.
3. I often connect the iris to the upper lid with the same dark value (sometimes leaving it like that – as above in The Woodsman). This approach gives a nice connected shape to continue to paint into.
4. I will often glaze transparent paint onto a dark base to give eye colour in the iris and pupil area, taking time, until I happen upon an effect I like. I typically will have the work placed horizontally. In this process, I take as much paint off as I put on – it’s all part of the painting process!
5. Look to capture the shape and light of the cheekbone – it is an under-appreciated opportunity to create likeness and drama!
6. Unless they are a prominent feature (as with the example below), I just suggest the eyebrows, focusing more on the shape of the eye socket than the line of the eyebrows.
7. As always, value contrasts are your friend!

Example

In order to see the progression that the eye area might take, let’s take a look at an example:

Initial blocking:

Here are the results from the first session, showing a general blocking of the eye area. Note that I’ve blocked in dark for the eye sockets, defining the bridge of the nose from the lighter side. My brush is showing the edge of the cheek bone, limiting the socket. With the dramatic contouring below the eye socket, I put some focus on a prominent characteristic. The eyebrows are also an opportunity to show the character around the eyes.

Adding colour:

At this second stage, I’ve added some impasto colour whilst leaving the eyes essentially unchanged. When adding for skin tones, my brush marks follow the lead of the previous stage. I often add the colour quite thickly and then wipe and blend, should the effects look strident. In this case, I liked the effect and it gave the focus that I had been looking for in this portrait. I did wipe out some areas of the forehead (refer to the image of the completed portrait). Diffusing the forehead increased the focus on the eyes.

Detailing the eyes:

For the final painting, I proceeded to detail the eyes further.

The iris and pupil are more defined – however, note that they still blend into the gloom of the upper lid. The white of the eyes is in variegated grays – the “whites” of the eyes are never white! The reflected highlight is the brightest, added at the last minute. Although I can’t be certain, I may have tried a couple of times to create the highlight and I certainly partially blotted the paint off on the right. I normally do this – heavy-handed reflections can look false. In this case, I added some colour too: Red – to draw you in.

Example 2 – adding some detail in the eye area

In the following video, I take a study and add some detail in the eye area. Notice that there’s some back and forth, in order to achieve the effect that I’m looking for – including wiping out and modifying effects on the canvas.

Exercise

1. Pick two or three of your previous studies and assess eye shape, specifics of each shadow area and the cheek bones for application to future portraits. Perhaps experiment on the side with some charcoal.
2. Working with a new foundation painting of your own choosing (perhaps using the Reference Gallery), experiment with creating depth and shadow in the eye and cheek area with a minimum of detail.
3. Using one of your existing portrait studies or this new work, develop the eye area in consequence of the above experience.