Sun Kissed by Leada Wood

I just love little freckles that pop out on children's faces in the summer time. I always told my kids they were sun kissed. 

I wanted to paint Atticus from a photo I had taken a few years ago as he was standing under one our trees with his big cowboy hat on. He usually has a big grin but I caught him in a half grin which I found endearing. He is such a dear, sweet boy.

“Sun Kissed”

By Leada Wood copyright

Watercolor

Defining the portrait .Need to beef up the colors a little more. 

Laying in the color

Beginning the face. Wet into wet. I am painting this on watercolor canvas panels and the paint behaves differently so a learning curve.

The second drawing before I transfer it to the panel. 

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we may not see.”

—-John F Kennedy

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They  shall not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. 

                                                                                                   —-Psalm 127:3-5

 



Leave A Little Sparkle by Leada Wood

Leave a little sparkle wherever you go is one of my favorite quotes. When I think of Averi I think of her sparkle. She has a smile that just lights up the room and I wanted to try to capture some of her glow in this portrait.  I asked her to pose a certain way for me and her Mom took many photos while her Dad held a spot light so it was truly a family affair getting photographs for me. Thanks to all of you! Don’t you just love technology…sometime?

This is an impressionistic portrait not a photograph or hyper-realism. I could never paint her as beautiful as God created her but it was sure fun trying to capture her likeness. I hope we created a good memory for her to look back upon. 

“Leave A Little Sparkle”

By Leada Wood Copyright

Acrylic

Getting closer to the finish line but not quite there yet.

Laying in some more of the shadows.

Starting to define shadows.

Laying in the base coats of paint, and I decided to extend the gold some more.

Beginning to lay in the flesh tones and hair.

Tracing the charcoal lines with acrylic paint to begin exploring my subject. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post❤️ I hope you enjoyed hearing my story and seeing a few of the steps in my process.

“A heart is not judged by how much you love but by how much you are loved by others.”

                                                            —-Tin Man



 

 



Drawn To The Mirror by Leada Wood

I thought so much about the old masters as I was drawing and painting my self for this project. I saw what kept Van Gogh drawing and painting himself 26 times, he wanted to get it right! Not only that his model was always available and worked long hours for free!

Creating a likeness is like chasing elusive butterflies, difficult to capture! I want it to be creative, to capture the feel of the person. It’s not a photograph or hyper-realism but an illusion. 

They think it took DaVinci 16 years to paint the Mona Lisa and 12 of those on the lips alone, or that is the speculation. They do know it was the last 16 years of his life that he worked on it. I can imagine him pushing a little paint around every time he walked by the canvas saying …awe not quite there, a little more here.

You would think that a face you have looked at your whole life would be easy but I think that only makes it more difficult. You look but do you see? I also learned that you want to work from a good photo and not a bad selfie. Life lessons…

Self-Portrait

By Leada Wood copyright

Inktense and watercolor 

Self-Portrait

By Leada Wood copyright

Acrylic

Final version? Who knows? The paint is still on my palette so there is a chance of another dab here or there or I may say enough and try it again another day. 

It’s the challenge that keeps me going back in to see if I can make it better, to satisfy that’s the best I can do…and hopefully it will resemble me just a little.

Not there yet! 

Not quite there

Who is this person coming from the paint?

Building up the features and readjusting.

Laying in features

Creating the mask. There wasn’t a drawing except with paint and I didn’t get the first bit of mapping in, but this is where I paint in the flesh tones using burnt umber, cadmium orange and white. Not colors I would ever choose to do a portrait but that was part of the challenge. Sepia tones are not the easiest to work with for skin. I usually use red, yellow, blue and white for flesh tones.

 

 



Making Marks by Leada Wood

Putting pencil to paper is gratifying, just making marks, layer upon layer until finally an image forms. Finding the values…light against dark…pushing here pushing there. How do you know when to stop? For me it’s not about hyper realism but leaving the feeling of creating, a likeness, an artistic interpretation of the subject. Making marks or drawing is the root of everything when it comes to art.

Head Study by Leada Wood

Graphite

Noses, lips, eyes, ears! Oh my! They all are quite challenging and where you place them on the face makes a world of difference. I am still learning.

“Art is when we do work that matters in a creative way, in a way that touches people and changes them for the better.”

                                                                       —-Seth Godin