I was always interested in learning about the Old Masters’ techniques. The Artist’s Handbook by Ralph Mayer and Learning From The Old Masters by Joseph Sheppard were a good start. Articles I had collected over the years from art and history magazines contained interesting information from past and present artists. The process shown here is my synthesis of my reference.
Before I start any painting, one constant in my work is to tone my board or canvas to get rid of the gessoed white. I don’t enjoy working on such a bright, clinical tone.
For this portrait I used my own reference photos. I ultimately transferred info from three different shots. Because of the perspective distortions and slight changes of the pose in the photos I only transferred light indicating lines for proportion. I then spent a couple of hours drawing to establish the likeness and overall feeling of the pose. I use a kneaded eraser to remove all the loose graphite from the canvas as I don’t like to fix the drawing with a spray.
