The Portrait Process

I've been meaning to write for a while about painting portraits (my first painting love), but I've been so busy with... well.. life, that I haven't gotten around to it. Until now. I LOVE painting portraits; they are challenging and aggravating and pressure-filled to capture a person's likeness, but it's also amazing and thrilling to be called to do something that reflects not just how a person looks, but who they are.

I was honored to have the opportunity to paint Mrs. Dorothy George. She is a former educator in Patrick County, active in her church and her community and is still going strong at 92 years old. She is an inspiration to so many. I was excited to tackle this project.

Before I paint anyone's portrait, I pray for them. If I have painted a portrait of your child, parent, or spouse, you will know that I have prayed for them. I think about the person I am painting, pray for them, and I always pray for God to give me the ability to paint them. I know this doesn't come from me, but through me. Once I start praying, I start drawing and painting! (now onto the technical stuff....)

I always begin with several sketches (didn't include those here; pencil is a little hard to see). It helps me work the kinks out so to speak and break any bad habits I might be tempted to try for the actual portrait. I usually set up a color palette too (mixing flesh tones in watercolors can be very challenging).

Now, I'm ready to sketch on my watercolor block.

(sorry for the quality; it's hard to capture pencil drawings on camera)

Now, I begin to paint; light washes of a mixture of skin tones, blue background, etc. It always takes me awhile to decide on my background; I knew this time that I had to have some shades of blue in the background to help bring out Mrs. George's beautiful blue eyes.

The bright white reflections you are seeing is masking fluid. Watercolors are transparent, which means I have to work from light to dark in order for all my colors to show through and not become muddy. So, the masking fluid protects areas that I want to keep light or completely white (using the paper as my white instead of painting it white). I also mix all my own shades of black; I think it gives a truer color.

I am focusing more on skin tones now; I use at least 5 different colors in my palette to make the various shades and contours of the skin (burnt sienna being one of them)

Watercolor is all about layering color, and having LOTS of patience. Somedays I do better with that than others ... :)

Here's the view of the final product

I've added color to certain areas of the hair to give it shape and contour. I've layer on more paint for the skin, taken off all the masking fluid and worked more on her mouth, teeth, and sharpened all my colors.


I softened a few edges, added more layers where needed, and signed it. This was a challenging and wonderful portrait to paint.

I appreciate any and all feedback, so when you get a chance, let me know what you think.



Thanks!


Candice


Stone Mar Studio

Inspiration Strikes Again....

The decision to draw and paint a subject isn't something that can normally be put into a tangible list. Inspiration strikes at any time, with a fierceness that can always surprise. We all have moments of inspiration in our daily lives: the new idea at work, the change to a recipe we're cooking, etc. I see inspiration as one of the many gifts from God that we can choose whether or not we act on.

Sometimes I instantly see a subject in nature and know that I want to paint it. I'm always ready with a camera to take pictures, especially during the "golden hours" around sunrise or sunset when the light is just perfect. There are a lot of times that I return later to photos I have taken and then the inspiration strikes. I'm sure it depends on my mood, the season and what is occuring in my life that makes me gravitate towards certain subjects at certain times.

I was outside my house at sunset a couple of months ago and took a picture of one of my yellow daylilies. It was still shrouded in some shade, but it's tips were catching the sunlight and it was just gorgeous. I knew then that it would be my next painting subjects (even though I had a few projects that I had already promised that were unfinished :)

So, I began working on the yellow daylily painting:

With watercolors, color choices and timing are very important. Watercolors are transparent, so laying down a dark color and putting a lighter color on top may not work out as well as it would with acrylics and oils. It's easier to save (not paint) the white areas of the watercolor paper than it is to go back and add in highlights later.

I drew not the flower, but what makes up the flower and light as it comes through it. Drawing takes almost as much time as painting. I started laying in the yellows and a green and blue background in this photo.

Next, I began defining the daylily with color. It isn't simply a yellow daylily, but various shades and colors within it. I used cadmium lemon, cadmium yellow medium and yellow ochre to define different areas of the daylily. More shading and definition will come later, but I have to build my color. More layers of Ultramarine Blue and Russian Green are used for the background to help bring this daylily forward in the painting.

Here's the painting with all the petals filled in with the various shades of yellows, a few oranges and a little burnt sienna for the parts of the flower where the sun was warming up its' color.

More layers of Ultramarine, Russian Blue, Russian Green and Violet go into the background. Since the photo was taken at sunset, this daylily was in quite a bit of shade on the underside of the petals. Even though this is a yellow daylily, the shadows in the fading sunlight appeared blue on the daylily and really showed its' wonderful textures, folds, and curves. In the picture below you can see where I began adding in the shadows.

Finally, it was time to add the drama and details. The last layers of blues, greens and purples were applied. I also added more burnt umber and cad orange to some of the petals, the throat of the daylily and defined the inside of the daylily. More ultramarine was added to clearly define the shadows. I was careful to leave my paper white or very light for the highlights, but I also used a scrubber brush to make smaller highlighted areas by removing a few layers of paint. It also gives the daylily a little of the silky look that the petals have. All that was left was a to sign it. This one took awhile! I was ready to complete it!

Up next, is a portrait that I'm working on. Once it's finished, I'll explain the back story for it and the process in painting it.

My goal is to blog a little more often, so hopefully you will see an update again from me soon!

Candice

Images of Spring

Spring has sprung!

After this long, harsh winter, the first signs of spring have been very welcome. It's finally time to shed the heaviest layers of clothes and seek out the sunshine. I always enjoy springtime's grand arrival, but I am also one of those people who genuinely enjoy all the seasons. I think in order to appreciate the beauty of spring, we have to have seen and felt the signs of winter. I don't think I could ever live in a location that didn't have all 4 seasons.

In another artist's blog that I am reading, she follows the suggestion that artists need to have "artist dates" where they take photographs, make sketches, or paint something around them. So, I thought the changing of the seasons would be the perfect time to follow her advice. So, here you will find a few photos from our yard and a couple of my latest paintings.

I invite you to sit outside in your favorite spot, listen to the songs of the birds, and take in the beauty of the blooming trees and plants around you. (Hopefully the pollen that comes with spring won't bother your allergies while you're enjoying the scenery!)

Happy Spring!

Candice

Artists I Like

There are tons of artists out there, but we all have those favorite artists whose work moves us and speaks to us in ways that others can't. I've decided every so often to list a few of my very artists.



One of my all-time favorite artists is a North Carolina artist by the name of Ivey Hayes. He used to paint amazingly realistic watercolor scenes until his debilitating arthritis caused him to switch to acrylics. He credits God for giving him the vision of his scenes and his change to the acrylic paint. His paintings are amazing, and so is his spirit.



Here's a link to a recent interview with him. Through the pain and declining health, he still loves to paint and feels blessed to do so.



www.wwaytv3.com/node/19123





Here's a link to some of his artwork. It doesn't include nearly all of his pieces, but is a good representation of his newer work.



www.fastframeofwilmington.com/gallery.php#hayesart







Another of my very favorite artists is Suzanna Winton. She is a watercolor portrait artist who paints amazingly realistic portraits. She is a the daughter of an art teacher; once her children were in school she also went back to school and received more training in art and began painting portraits. I love to paint portraits, and viewing her work makes me strive to be better every day.



Here's the link to her site if you're interested.



www.suzannawintonwatercolors.com/index.htm



click on the Gallery and Commissions links to see more samples of her work



Hope you like these artists too - I'll try to post more of my favorites soon!



Candice

Christmas at the Country Store

This painting was literally about 15 years in the making. I don't remember where I was, or exactly when I sketched this old country store, but I know it was sometime while I was in high school. Several years ago, I ran across the pencil sketch again and put it in a simple black mat and black document frame. I don't know why I framed it, or why I've kept it hanging up in various places, but it has stuck with me for years now.

A few years ago, I walked into our daughter's playroom, looked up at the wall with this sketch on it and knew that it had to be painted. I do not paint a lot of snow scenes, but I could see this store out on a winding country road somewhere, with freshly fallen snow all around. A Christmas scene was what I envisioned for this lovely old store. But there were other projects to be finished, and other areas of life that always pull and tug at the time available, so the painting stayed in my head for quite a while. But every time I walked into the playroom, there it was on the wall as a constant reminder. (kind of like those eyes on the dollar bills in the Geico commercials) I couldn't get away from what I wanted that store to be. So finally, about a year and a half ago, I set about drawing the store again (I did change a few elements for composition sake) and painting a snowy scene and a Christmas wreath hanging up at the store.

It's what I envision Christmases past being like. A snowy day, and a stop at the country store for a few necessities, good conversation and some hard candy for the children. While I was painting this, it felt like being in a time warp, a different place and time when things were simpler and richer than they seem to be now.

So, that's the initial story behind the painting. I have been working with an excellent printing company out of High Point and am excited to announce that I will be selling this as a limited edition giclee print (only 100 will be printed and sold). I have been trying to decide if I should dive into the waters of the print sales world and trying to decide what painting to start with. This sketch and resulting painting have been with me since I started drawing more seriously, so it felt natural to have this be the first print.

The age of the original drawing made me think about high school and I thought of the local food pantry that I volunteered at during high school. I can still remember meeting some of the most wonderful people who were going through the worst times of their lives. I had the privledge of helping in a small way to try to make their lives a little easier. I know that times now are incredibly difficult, and the needs much larger than they were 15 years ago, so I have decided to donate 10% of the price of every print sold to the Foothills Food Pantry. They are taking contributions for their Christmas meals that they provide, and what better way for me to help than to donate part of the sales from my Christmas store painting to help those who need food and a chance to have a Merry Christmas.

So, if you are interested in a print, please let me know. The cost of a print is $35.00 and they will be hand-signed and the print number will be written on the print. Again, 10% will go to help the Food Pantry make Christmas a little brighter for those in need.

I hope that as you are reading this, that you are healthy, happy and well, and enjoying my occasional blog posts. It is so nice to be able to tell the stories behind the paintings. If you would like a print, you can email me directly. I am putting the link to the print on my website so that you can find all the important size information and anything else you might need to know.

I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and that whether or not you decide you would like this print in your home, that you please remember those around you who are in need and help those organizations that are trying to help them.

I know it's early, but Happy Holidays everyone!

Candice

www.yessy.com/cmartin/country.html?i=680

Art Show

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow, Sunday, I will be at Chateau Morrisette with several other artists and crafters for their annual Pet Adoption Day. It is a fun filled day with several pet adoption groups and pet foster families there with their animals available for adoption. The animals love all the attention and petting they receive and there are usually several pet adoptions. There is usually a wide variety of animals available for adoption and a wide variety of arts and crafts available too.

There will also be live music and food available. The hours of the Pet Adoption Day are from 11:00-4:00, so if you're looking for something fun and enjoyable to do tomorrow afternoon and you're in the area, please stop by. It's a fun time for everyone and the weather is supposed to be beautiful!

Here's the link if you need more information about Chateau Morrisette. You can click on the event calendar for more information about this specific event.
www.chateaumorrisette.com

A View From Heaven

One of the things I loved about being in Boone during my college days was that you could be surrounded by people and controlled chaos one minute and then get in your car, drive for 10 minutes, and be surrounded in nature's beauty and peacefulness. I loved being so close to Blowing Rock, Valle Crucis and the Blue Ridge Parkway to a name a few places.

One of my favorite stops was the Moses Cone Memorial Park. Flat Top Manor is beautiful and stately, with rocking chairs that invite you to sit down and stop for awhile. It was the total opposite of the frantic lifestyle that seems to surround us all. Years after I graduated from ASU, I realized that I never took any pictures of the manor or the grounds and wished that I had taken a little more time to do so.

Fortunately, my parents (who fell in love with Boone too), were visiting up that way and my dad took a photograph of Flat Top Manor -- or I should say, he took a photograph FROM Flat Top Manor. All this time, I thought I wanted a photograph of the house, but I really wanted to capture the view from the house. I knew I had to paint it.

It took several months to paint this particular painting. The intricacies of the distance fencing, combined with the railing, floors and rocking chairs were almost maddening. But what I wanted to capture the most was that feeling of looking out over that calm, peaceful and beautiful scene. The distant mist and the feeling that you need to sit down in one of those chairs for awhile is what I hope that I captured.

Over the years, friends and I have discussed what we think Heaven is like. I don't know, but I think a cool fall morning with the mist rising over the trees as the sun comes up, sitting in a rocking chair listening to it creak against the porch while surrounded by nature's bounty sounds heavenly to me. So, that is how this particular piece was named, "A View From Heaven".

I hope that this painting relaxes you, inspires you and reminds you of all the beauty God has surrounded us with in this world.