Ok, now I like how this figure in oil turned out. Hopefully I can continue with the success I’ve had with this painting.
I intentionally left this one unfinished for my reference but at this stage I could tell where it was headed and if it was going to work well or not. I began the painting by drawing in charcoal. At the moment my skills with a paint brush are not near as accurate as with a charcoal pencil. After the drawing I put down all of the shadow shapes with a thin coat of burnt umber. I’m not sure how necessary the burnt umber step is, I will have to remove it and see next time. Also if I drew out the shadow shapes in charcoal it would be more accurate.
The only issue I have now is that I can never plan the size of the figure on the page correctly. Of course I’m working very small, 5×7 inches, but I’m sure I could have fit the entire figure on the canvas.
For my next figure in oil painting I think I will use a larger canvas, maybe 9×12. Then I will work hard to get the entire figure composed onto the space.
