Mum

[Abbietaya]

After numerous attempts (up in the 20's) at drawing mum from a very small thumb nail picture. This is the final version, its as close as i can get to her , it looks like mum to me. Though , i feel i still haven't quite got her smile  right, its one of those things do you tweak and maybe cause more problems? Or do you accept it as done? I decided that after tweaking several and  spoiling them, that this is it the definitive one. Hope you like it!
Drawn on approx a4 white mount board
Please bear in mind mum wore 2 hearing aids this made her specs sit incorrectly sometimes more exaggerated than others depending on how mum had inserted her aids. Also, mum had osteoporosis which gave her a dowager hump and caused her to twist/slant sideways.

Details

[MaryAnne Long]

Abbietaya

It's lovely.  I would image that it is difficult to do a portrait in colored pencil, but you have done well.

I am sure your mum would have loved this and been extremely proud of you for doing it.

aloha

mea

[Abbietaya]

Hi Mea,
Thankyou, i know exactly what she would say 'its quite nice'. Mum never ever said 'that's good' or 'very good' or even 'no, try and do it again' it was always 'quite  nice' . Which honestly was infuriating at times when all you wanted was an honest answer!
But that was mum!
Take care and thank you again.

[Val]

Well done Abbie! It is difficult to work from small photos, and to work from a thumbnail.....    . I have an outline I did of my mum a couple of years ago....still waiting to be done. Unfortunately I didn't pack the photo so I only have a very small photo of the photo to work with. Kudos to you for your accomplishment! 

[Abbietaya]

Thank you val,
Since i posted mum and said it was the final version i have been studying a new way of layering cp so i feel another version in the pipeline...

Take care

[Val]

I'll look forward to seeing that Abbie.     I've got everyone up north searching for the photograph I left behind, hoping they find it so I don't have to wing this one. I'd really like to get it right.   

[Abbietaya]

Hi Val,
Thankyou, i hope i can do it right!  My mum didn't like having her picture taken hence such a small photo -just big enough to fit a locket which is where it lives now.   I hope you find your mum's photo and  you enjoy drawing her portrait, look forward to seeing your work.

I am starting toddler steps with acrylic, i have been offered some laser cut off cuts, i can pick between plywood or mdf. They are going to send me a couple to decide which i would like. I have white gesso, but i am thinking i may want to tint it to a more complementary  colour. Also i have read that if i prime with gesso i can try wc and pastel..
Please any advice you may would be gratefully received.

Take care
Liz

[scouserl41]

Liz,
That's really good.
It's so difficult to get a likeness in a portrait and especially if it's somebody you know as well as your Mum.
Colored pencils are pretty restricting when it comes to color choices and blending but layering does work. If you have a couple of different brands of pencils you may find changing from one brand to another for layering works wonders as some put down more pigment than others and a gentle blend can be easier control with a pencil that doesn't put down a thick pigment all at once.
I paint a lot on panels. I use hardboard (Masonite in the US). I go to the big stores (Home Depot and Lowes) mid week when it's quiet and select an 8' x 4' panel (I get 1/8" but you can get 1/4" too) and take it over to the big saw they have in the store. Then I ask one of the guys if he can cut it for me. (They cut it for free). I ask them to cut it in half to make 2 4' x 4' pieces. Then I ask them to stack those together and cut it again to make 4 2'x 4' pieces.
By this time they are quite intrigued, and when I ask them to stack it all again and turn it sideways to cut it into 16" long pieces they have to ask "What are you using this for?". Once they find out you are going to paint on it they  get all enthusiastic, especially if you show them some of your paintings on your phone! When you ask them to cut some of them again into 12" x 16" pieces they jump right in.
That way you get a whole pile of panels to paint on and it costs $4 or $5 for the whole lot!
At home you wipe both sides once with denature alcohol and a clean cloth, no need to sand. Gesso them on both sides and you have enough panels to last a couple of years.
If you want a tinted surface mix white and black gesso to give a light grey. Use a roller to put it on and give it  3 coats. That will cover the board well and give a nice texture to paint on.
I've never tried pastel or WC on them but I've painted oil and acrylics extensively using this method.
They store well too taking up way less space than canvasses.
Brian

[Val]

  Hi Liz! 

Brian's info above covers it all I think.     He's so clever!     

You can do just about anything on any gesso prepared surface. Someone is going to have some real fun!!! 

[Annie.]

Brian,
Thanks.  I just did that at Home Depot.  4x8' x 1/4 in smooth one side.

But for my Canadian fellows, it cost CAN$44 ($10 of which was the cutting cost).  Expensive compared to what you pay, considering we are the land of lumber.  Still a small fraction of buying wood panels in art stores.

Two questions:
1. Why Gesso both sides?
2. How do you place a hook in the back?

Thanks Annie

[scouserl41]

If you gesso both sides it prevents the board warping and it also gives you a second surface to paint on if you don't like what's on the first side.
That doubles again the number of panels you got.
I'd shop around next time you are buying hardboard that seems really expensive even by Canadian standards, and then they charged you for cutting it!
Still it is very cheap per panel as you say.
Brian

[Annie.]

Thanks Brian.
Yes, I will check.  But we also have a Canadian cie called Rona/Revy, they were even more expensive. 

I took great care to find the most flat sheet, but the edge panels are still not flat.  I was wondering if I should put weight on them, or if I should make them humid and then put weight on them.   When I saw the 1/8" thickness panel, they were so 'bobbly' so I went for 1/4" instead, it was just $5 more. 

I am still wondering how one 'hock' those panel on the wall...

[scouserl41]

We live in an RV so storage is always an issue and for me the 1/8" panels just take up less space. Warpage can be an issue. If they are warped when you buy them then the place you got them isn't storing them properly. They should be kept flat.

I wouldn't dampen them, modern adhesives are water based and hardboard does swell up and fall apart when it gets very wet. A flat board and weights might work. You could glue strips of wood to the back to stiffen it. Large pieces painted on hardboard are stiffened this way.
 
1/4" would be a better choice if it's for "Keeper" paintings. Many of mine are for practice at portraits so I generally throw them away after they get painted on both sides or I give them to the models as thank you.

Hanging them on the wall is like canvasses - frame them!
You can also glue strips of wood to the back of the piece to stabilize it and give you something to screw "eyes" into for a wire.

I also have used "Command Strips" which can be bought from a hardware store. They have double sided tape on one side and Velcro on the other. The nice thing is that to remove them from the wall you pull a tab and the tape comes off without marking the walls. Due to the weight of hardboard I have found I need at least 3 of them per picture to prevent them falling down. I wouldn't hang them over anything breakable either just to be safe!

Hope all this helps,
Brian

[BarryC]

portraits are hard in the extreme! Nice job.

[Annie.]

Thanks Brian.  Sorry for late response, been away for 2 weeks.

Glueing strips of wood is a good idea.  My daughter have hundreds of paintings... I don't frame them, imagine the expense and time.  The paintings on canvas is stretched over stretcher bars and stapled on the back instead of the edges.  Looks nicely finished.

The practice paintings are either rooled away if large, or lay flat between parchemin sheets is smaller.  Storage is becoming a big problem.