Portrait of a Father

Here are a couple more stages of the commission I started recently. I am applying lots of different colour washes to build up skin tone so the changes are slow and subtle but that's how the painting eventually comes to life.

Portrait of a fabulous 90 year old

Here is the final portrait of my dear grandpa on his favourite local walk on Windmill Hill in Alton, Hampshire. I presented it to him at his 90th birthday party along with a 'This is Your Life' book filled with photos and anecdotes from all his family. It was a lovely day!

My Grandpa!

I haven't put up any photos showing how the portrait of my gorgeous grandpa is coming along recently (mostly because he's been sitting in my studio at that difficult I'm-not-sure-what-to-tackle-next phase). But in the last couple of days I attacked the background and have gradually worked my way around the canvas again adding detail to his jacket, the wood and finally his face. He's nearly finished but I need to return with fresh eyes tomorrow to spot where I can make further improvements. I have enlarged part of the painting so you can see (hopefully) the difference between one stage to the next. It's subtle, I know, for hours of work - but he's worth it!

More Family Portrait Paintings

Portrait of a Father

I love the first stages of a painting: all colour applied to the canvas transforms it and the portrait seems to take form relatively quickly. The next few stages always seem much slower as various washes are applied to build up translucent skin tones. I'll continue to post them though it's harder to tell the difference!

Visit my Portrait Painting Site

Portrait of a Father

This is a new commission started today. It is going to be acrylic on canvas board, size 16x20" and has been commissioned by his daughter. So far I have sketched the outline of his face based on a photograph, put him in a favourite jumper and added texture paste which needs to dry before I can start adding colour.

The Final Frame

I use an excellent framer for clients who like their portraits ready to hang on the wall. For this portrait they wanted an ornate gold frame to match other pictures in their traditional pub. So here he is: framed, packaged and ready to be picked up. I'm glad to say they were thrilled to bits - always a relief when the customer walks away happy!