Young Ballerina
I have been working away at the portrait of this young girl and wanted to share an in-progress shot and share a bit about the process. I started the painting from the rough stage to slowly building up color and form.
Notice how the painting before this last image was very soft and how the figure almost was one with the background
. That's because the color values were to close to each other. Nothing wrong with that look, but for custom portraiture the figure has to be prominent and visually pop forward. Once I went over the entire background with a purplish wash, the light blues and greens really came forward.
I love how the downturned hand came out. When I first set eyes on it, I thought " Oh my - that's going to be a tough one". The entire painting still needs work, but it's time to set it aside and let my eyes rest. Once I don't work on it for a bit I will be able to see better what could be tweaked and made better.
This painting really brings across the child's sweetness and I hope that my client will be pleased with it.
