How to Paint Realistically - Portrait of Randy

The first key to a realistic oil painting has always been the Under-painting. I know it sounds tedious, but this is a very important step. Da Vinci would create perfect under-drawings before he began painting. I prefer to use charcoal or acrylic for my under-paintings; so I can begin painting immediately aftterwards. If you use a drawing medium, remember that the medium will mix in with your paints. Using drawing mediums adds a little "randomness" to your work, and makes your colors more interesting by making life more difficult. Keep in mind that tonal qualities are more important than color qualities.

To avoid painting the same thing twice, I usually start off with a very messy sketch. I place un-mixed colors directly onto the canvas. Most artists would mix their colors as accurately as possible before painting; I would suggest mixing your colors because this usually makes life easier. I work in layers, using a diversity of colors that work together to arrive at a semi-realistic result. This first photo was taken just after I placed the un-mixed raw colors directly onto the canvas, the edges are rough, and the colors/tones are all a little bit off. The lights in the background are jagged and gestural. There is a lot of cadmium red in this stage.

In this photo, I smoothed out some of the edges, and I added a layer of burnt sienna to basically every part of the piece. Rather than painting a traditional circular microphone (which is quite difficult to paint), I thought it would be fun to paint a 1950's microphone. Artistic freedom is an important aspect of creating art, instead turning your limitations into disappointment, turn them into something positive.

I let some of the layers from the background seep into the foreground. The microphone is no longer its own piece, but rather a detailed part of the whole painting. I made the skin tones a bit more pink, and added more contrast. The final piece looks somewhat refined, every piece could use more work, but it's important to know when to stop. Statistically you will learn quicker by doing a large quantity of work, rather than focusing all your time attempting to make the "perfect" piece. It takes a humble amount of reason to realize that you haven't learned all the skills you need to perfect your artwork yet. The only way to gain those skills is through practice.

I am satisfied with this piece, it's time to move onto the next one. I haven't learned how to paint fur yet, so "Portrait of Autumn", should be interesting.