First Painting of Hermes is now Complete!

In one session last week, I added more paint to the hair layers and then revised the overall shadow area on the face, making it darker and browner in more areas. I think the values are correct now. I unintentionally enlarged the dimple in the chin, so that will have to be revised.

Note: I didn't take this photo from the correct position (too far to the right) and so the curtain seems out of alignment.

First painting of Hermes is nearly done...

The first painting stage is nearly done for Hermes. I built up the paint layer on the left forehead tonight. But, unless the camera is playing tricks, the shape of the head isn't quite right. The top right side slopes down more than it should.
To be corrected on Friday night.

Working on the skin colour and the cloth...

I think my camera is lying (or is it my laptop) vis-a-vis colours. I worked hard this week on the flesh colour under the neck (left side) and also on a patch of the cloth below the base... In this picture, they don't look they way I see them in nature here.... Still some adjustments to do on the tones and the modelling, but I'll be an optimist and say every session is setting up the next stage of the painting, especially as I get into more and more of the smaller spaces and details...

Work progresses on Hermes

This past week, I've been concentrating on the shadows -- the cast shadow (now more solid), the edge of the cheek and forehead, and the contained shadow on the shoulder (better shape). The hair in the shadows still needs to be modelled and darkened to give a better sense of turning away from the light. But I'll be working next on the lights in the neck and probably the cloth under the base (darkening it)...

Hermes -- First Painting Continues

I'm still working on the "first painting" stage, concentrating now mostly in the shadows on the right side of the head... The head looks too large at the moment and not angled correctly -- this should be fixed by: correcting the line of the left cheek, defining the the hair line/ear better, and by articulating the rivulets in the hair and on the contour.

My camera distorts -- the canvas is brighter than it seems here, although I haven't added my yellow ochre to the whites yet so it does seem on the white side... I'll try using a tripod next time. My easel is also a foot closer to the camera than the statue, which adds further distortion I find.

A new layout for the Hermes painting

I've draped a maroon clothe around the side and base of the Hermes caste to provide more balance with the cast shadow, a deeper contrast along the lit side of the face, and some diagonals... Below is the new design, cropped in the exact ratio width/height of my canvas. I'm still applying local colour to the new background and will upload an image of the Hermes painting soon.

Starting the Dry Brush for Hermes

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been busy making preparations for Hermes. After the cartoon was finished, I coated 2 available stretched canvases (one actually canvas and the other linen) with 3 coats of Golden Ground & Gesso and sanded after the last coat with 600 wet/dry silicon carbide sandpaper. I decided to work with the canvas because it's slightly wider than the linen, at 20X24 instead of 18X24.

The next step was to transfer the cartoon onto the canvas. I tried putting a sheet of carbon paper underneath the cartoon but the carbon wasn't transferring well and I feared slashing the canvas with the pencil tip if I pressed too hard... So then I resorted to the old fashioned way:
I made a tracing of the cartoon on mylar paper. Then I used a push pin to retrace Hermes on the mylar paper, poking holes large enough so that grains of charcoal would fall through. Once I place the mylar paper over the canvas, I brushed charcoal dust over it to transfer the drawing to the canvas.

The advantages:
-- I still have the original drawing that I can reuse
-- In the later stages of the painting, if I feel I've lost the "drawing", I can place the mylar paper over top again and see how the painting compares with the lines and shapes from the original drawing.

Then came the dry brush. I thinned out Raw Umber and followed the transferred drawing.

Shown below: the canvas with the transferred drawing, gone over roughly dry brush; and below it the completed cartoon and the mylar coated in charcoal.

Now that this is done, I will be able to paint in the "dead colour" --the background, cast shadows, contained shadows -- before beginning big form modelling in the first painting.

Hermes and his Goulish Cartoon

Over the winter in my home studio, I've been working on Hermes, on loan from a friend. I recently finished his cartoon and happened to capture the daytime shadows on his face at noon. In the photo below, taken early on the morning of Sat Mar 22, the shadows have not yet moved into the place where I've fixed them... He looks goulish in the drawing, but the anatomy is basically right. I will be transferring him to good paper and to linen canvas soon. On the canvas, I'll do a quick drybrush in raw umber to bring out the correct values again. Hermes has been patient.