Lots of old keys laying around the house after getting all the doors and windows…
The Man That Mildred Married
After a day off I was back today with the oil pastels. For a subject I picked out comedy actor Brian Murphy.
As usual I put down a pencil outline using a grid, then put some colour in the eyes, nostrils and mouth. And then I just enjoyed myself, putting in the face whatever colours either felt right or that I could see in the source photo, occasionally adding white to lighten things and eventually stopping when the paper couldn’t take any more colour. Then I added some quite simple clothes and background. And that was me done.
But things went strangely. Early on this looked like Brian but the longer I went on, the more heroic he started to look. And the more I tried to bring back Brian’s likeness, the more he started looking like Paul Newman. Or is it James Coburn 8n Pat Garret And Billy The Kid?
Despite not getting a likeness of my intended subject, this looks good and is going up for sale. It looks like a human being with a personality. And despite me using all sorts of weird colours, I’ve ended up with what looks like flesh tones. Oh, and I like the shirt and the background wall and doorknob.
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