"Whole Piece #64"

"Whole Piece #64"
6" by 6"
Oils on Panel

Blue Toned Surface &
Basic Under-sketch

Cool Skin

When I decided to paint from this reference photo I was in love with the palette of color for the painting I could imagine evolving from the colors in the photo. One aspect of the photo that struck me as an opportunity was the overall cool cast to the light. Since I knew I wanted to play up skin-admiring cool colors I decided to start the painting off with an overall blue toned surface. With blue as the color which the initial layer of paint was up against I was better able to see the warmth in the relatively cool colors I would lay-in on top of the blue to start building skin tone. With a cool blue starting point I was able to find my way to portraying blonde hair with blue-greens in the shadows and a skin surface with muted greens and blues.

First Layer of Painting 

Color Abundance

For the Whole Piece Series I am striving for much variety in palette from painting to painting while maintaining visual cohesion between all the paintings when they are displayed together. A good contrast to this painting's cool palette is in my last post. Look particularly at the relatively cool highlights on the nose in "Whole Piece #36," that color would appear warm on this cheek.

P.S. I want offer a hearty thanks to the Grossmont College student who let me take this picture for reference!

"Whole Piece #56"

"Whole Piece #56"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel

Earprints

Okay, I knew everybody had unique ears. From my long time enjoyment of British mystery series I believe I once heard that ear prints are as unique as thumb prints. But, I had never thought much about the form of the ears of each person I met, unless of course they were yelling at me to get attention with multitudes of earrings, a humongous plug or large hole where a plug usually lived, were rather over-sized, or stood out more than usual, etc.. But in sifting through photo reference for this series I find myself curious if anybody has a boring or "normal" ear, there is so much variety, many more people have elfish ears than I expected and the lobes go from smooth and pillowy to mountainous. So, if you ever meet me and you catch me staring at the side of your head, you'll know why.

P.S. I just finished my third infant feature for the Whole Piece Series. I'm excited to share the pout soon. 

"Whole Piece #46"

"Whole Piece #46"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel

Bunnies!

"Whole Piece #46"
Side View

First things first! Does anybody have a pet bunny they'd like me to paint for free? I'm interested in adding a rabbit portrait to my pet portrait portfolio. Please contact me at ambergoulet@yahoo.com with your pet bunny photos. 

Fascinating Cavernous Ears

Before working on the Whole Piece Series I had never done in-depth painting of ears. Usually an ear is important to get to look "right" but not much more than a sidenote or afterthought. What I have found thought is that they are enjoyable to dive into much like a beautifully lit rock formation might be. There are so many value shifts and spaces to explore. They seem to exhibit personality in a curious abstract way.

Speaking of Sidenotes

In many of the recent Whole Piece paintings I'm intrigued by the effect of little bits of personal objects or style on the periphery. There are many bits of glasses, and in this piece perhaps even a hair color choice can count. I enjoy how they complicate these images. Even in these snippets of faces we can be influenced by context. We may even snatch hold of what little context we are given with more fervor. Our interpretation of others is never straightforward.

The 7 Day Painting Sprint

"Whole Piece #44"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel

The Painting Rampage: To those wishing to try this themselves I issue a warning. All the sitting and concentrating intently on painting may strain your back. :-P

I aimed very high. I aimed to get 10 paintings done in just 7 days. I guessed I wouldn't make it if anything else in my life that week didn't go as planned. No surprise, everything did not go as planned. BUT, because I had aimed to get more than one painting done a day I managed to get 9 paintings done in just 7 days, despite the fact I couldn't paint one of those days and only had a bit of time one of the other days! AND I completed #50 the very next day!

I'll be catching up on sharing the paintings as I organize the photos. Here is just a couple to wet your appetite.

"Whole Piece #49"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel

Next

More Whole Piece Series paintings from photos I took at Grossmont College, perhaps a chance to share an in progress landscape, and prepping my Whole Piece Project proposal for a competition application (That proposal means a photo of all the dry paintings together!).



P.S. A bit of your face can be a part of the Whole Piece Series too. Read about that here.