Susan Patton

Character, Personality, Spirit, Soul – these qualities cannot be measured by the length of the nose or the distance between the eyes. Yet, they are what a client is looking for when they commission me to paint a portrait. They can be revealed, however, in the movements, gestures and tendencies of the sitter. They are glimpsed when a subject interacts with the world around them, for example the way they tilt their head in response to a question, or nod when emphasizing certain words, or the way they move their hair, or even the way they keep their eyes on a nearby person they love. These small but revelatory motions cannot be captured in a single, still photograph. Yet, they are crucial for understanding personality and for creating a meaningful portrait.

In addition to painting studies from life, I use photographs as reference — multiple photos instead of just a single one. But even a series of photos, after a month or two in the studio, become quiet and stagnant. The memory of the photoshoot is much less in the front of my mind and it becomes harder to recall who I am painting, not just how they look. And it is who I am painting that matters. So that is why I began taking videos during my photoshoots.

Usually, I try to take the video when the client is “off guard”, though I always let them know at the beginning of the session that I will be filming. I want to see the unhindered character traits and mannerisms of my subject because those traits often form a large part of how the person is perceived. Video also helps me better understand the anatomy of my sitter because it captures him or her turning their head, providing a three-dimensional view of the skull, very helpful for understanding the upturn of the nose, or how deep the eyes are, etc., (photos often lack this level of information). 

In addition to life sittings when possible, and after studying the videos to watch for clues of character, I will choose a “main” photo reference that most portrays the sitter and get it approved by the client. Between sittings, I will use this still photo 75% of the time, but also flip through other pictures to see various angles and skin tones more clearly. But there comes a time as I work when I forget what it was like, really like, to be around the person. That is when I re-watch the video and see if I am capturing the spirit of the person. I will study the “hints” (the movements and tendencies) and see if I have captured a sense of personality in the collection of shapes on my canvas. I watch my subject’s head as it turns, and see if I have the skull correctly rendered. I look at proportions such as how the head compares to the body or to the arm length. I pick up the brush and trust myself as I work, using the rolling video which forces me to see the person as a whole. 

Moving beyond still images, I see the need to use more modern devices and watch people move, laugh, talk and breathe, and see if my painting holds the image of a being that loves, thinks and feels. It just makes sense to me. I cannot always have that person, child, or animal sit still for me to paint from life, so the video is the second-best option. 

There are other advantages as well.  When I ask a client to send me a video (so that I can appreciate the character and get a sense of who I am painting), it goes beyond a technical request: it is a tribute that honors the subject. It shows my deep respect not only for the person but also for the art of portraiture. It reminds me to not merely copy a photo and “miss the forest for the trees.” It gives my eyes a break and stimulates my brain to think. 

I do not know what will come next in our options for references when painting portraits – maybe a hologram sitting? But I do know this: we are past the age of still photos. I think the reason we like them is that they are “safe.” Necessary? Yes, I believe so, for a big portion of the painting. But let us also bring out the video and paint, and put the photo on standby for a while. Use the photo for technical information, but do whatever it takes to paint the person. Between sittings, or in lieu of sittings, videos are a great tool to study the unique, subtle, quirky, or beautiful movements that remind us of the breath behind the body, and help us capture it with a paintbrush. 

*This youtube video is an example of my process of taking video for a portrait commission: 

I recently received a photograph from a fellow artist. It was of her mother and father. She wanted to commission a painting of it to give to her mother, who is an artist as well. The photo showed her mother and father at an art workshop. Her Dad was not an artist, but was her Mom’s biggest fan. He would carry her gear, set up her easel and supplies, and then sit back and admiringly watch her paint works of art. As soon as I saw the picture, I saw the painting. I took the commission and began the process of not merely copying the image, but creating a visual story of connection.

So, what were my thoughts on developing the painting? How was the information processed in my mind? It went something like this:

1. First, I noticed a natural Fibonacci spiral in the design. I realized that the line leading my eye through the painting was dependent upon the connection between the gentleman’s feet and the shadows of the chair in front of him. If this were broken, your eye would go to the strong contrast between his clothing and the background. I wanted there to be a connection between the two people, for the design as well as for the story.
2. Second, I thought about the size and placement of the subject on the canvas. I chose a 12 x 16 inch canvas because it has a longer length to width ratio than the 11 x 14 one that we had originally discussed. I communicated this with the client, and she agreed.

3. Because there were two figures, I knew that the proportion would need to be as accurate as possible. If I drew one figure perfectly and then realized I did not have enough room for the other, I would have to start over.
   
4. The placement of the figures on the canvas mattered as well. I chose to have more room to the right of female figure because the pair were facing in that direction, and I wanted the viewer to have a sense of the space outside of the canvas. This placement also helped the eye not linger on the gentleman whose sharp edges and high contrast could have stolen the show. 
   
5. The balance of the painting was also important. The canvas had more “weight” or “pull” on the right side because of the size of the artist’s gear, the detail around that figure, the action the figure is engaged in, and her darker values.
   
6. Once I had the placement of the figures noted on the canvas, I began to mix my paint. I chose the colors for my “Color Circle” — the way I premix my colors to get a wide variety of harmonious hues with a limited palette.

My limited color palette for this painting was as follows: 

1 Red: Indian Red

1 Blue: Ultramarine Blue

1 Yellow: Cadmium Yellow Light

Dark: Mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Oxide Brown

Titanium White

And to the side – Cadmium red to mix in as needed

Next, I began painting at the center of interest (the place that I wanted the attention to go the most). This area also had the darkest darks on the canvas. As I painted her head, it was important to get a background color next to her hair and skin to show the relationship of value and temperature, instead of making an isolated color choice. These relationships of color and the interactions between colorsis the way that atmosphere is created in a painting — the interconnection of all of the elements and objects working together. That is why it is important to put a sky in a landscape early, and why the colors of some objects are found in others that are nearby. There should be a definite intertwining of color and movement throughout a scene. This is what is missing many times when artists feel like their paintings are too “stiff”.

I do not paint every painting using this same method. Instead, I let the design dictate the decisions I make. I think about how to not lose the most important design elements of the scene, and try not to let anything distract from it. I also try to have my drawing accurate enough that I can be bold with my brushwork and not rework it.

In this painting, I worked around the lady’s head, then followed the background to where the gentleman was, and then blocked him in. Finally, I circled back to her and the items around her. Even in the placement of the background flowers, I was thinking about my design. I did not mind the sharp edge created by his legs because it added to the movement of the viewer’s eye through the painting, leading to the female figure. I finished the painting with detail on his face- not getting too much detail, but just enough to see the shape of his head and character as much as possible in a small painting. When it said what I wanted it to say, I called it finished.

This painting was about a gentleman, who, although taking up the most space in the painting, was the background figure. His wife was the focus — not just of this painting, but also his life. And he was glad to sit back and watch as she shined in the spotlight. He was connected to her, not just in design, but in heart and in focus. As I compiled my painting, I was doing more than artistic design. I was telling a story of connection.

I chose to paint this piece because of the dramatic nature of the composition, the lighting, and the color. The composition would be like none other I had ever painted before- full of everything “a little girl is made of”- keeping your eye wandering around like an “I spy” game. (Even she seems to be trying to hide the fact that she let the cat on the bed.) Most of my other paintings were centered on one idea with very little “supporting characters” to that central theme. This one was more complex- a story in a snapshot that displayed the overwhelming love that was lavished on this little girl- from the flowers, to the pet, to the doll, to the flowered laden dress, to the homemade throw. So, yes, simplifying the painting would have “brought out” the subject more, but the narrative (and the added interest, in my opinion) would have been lost.

The lighting was a challenge- back lit by cool light casting warm dark shadows on the face. It was important to not go too dark because of the child’s age, and to be sure to alternate warms and cools to get a lifelike appearance.

But the color- wow. The color! I knew it would be the star of the show. Her little dress was a gorgeous, vibrant pink with yellow and blue flowers, with matching multi color sandals and pink socks. The array of flowers behind her echoed her dress but added new colors. And if that weren’t enough, the crocheted throw she was kneeling on had it’s share of color. Then there was the doll with a sweet sunshine yellow dress. (I also had to make sure that the doll’s face looked like a doll and the child’s face looked alive.) Then there was the “hidden” cat- with it’s reflected colors. 

The first decision I made on color was to decide I wanted a very limited color palette. One red, one blue, and one yellow would be used along with two transparent colors and white to make the various colors in this painting. But I knew that the choice of which red to use would be the most important, because of the rose colored dress was a main part of the beauty of the picture. I brought out a small 9″ x 11″ canvas and drew a square on it. From there, I did a compositional study, along with a color study. You can see from the image below that I mixed some colors on the side of this canvas with 3 different reds in order to see which I needed to go with. In the end, “Napthol Red” was the winner. 

So, I took Napthol red, along with a blue and a yellow and created my “color circle” from just these three colors, along with a dark transparent in the center of the circle. In all of my workshops I teach how to create this circle. It allows you to have a wide array of colors at your fingertips without having to think about every single color you see and how to mix it while you are painting.

It is amazing how many colors show up when you premix from just three primary colors. And it’s a good thing. This painting would use most of them, as the wide arrange of colors each told a story of how this child is very much “Cherished.”

To see me mixing this color circle in one of my workshops, click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQTEsOLp5YU&t=2s