A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 1
'O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!'
To see oursels as ithers see us!'
Acrylic Portraits can be done using a range of possible painting styles and techniques. Our portrait of Robert Burns uses a method of carefully modeling the figure with glazes of acrylic colour on top of flat underpainting. One of the great strengths of acrylic paint is that you can create deeply luminous colours by building up the image in thin transparent glazes of paint. The result is very similar to oil painting but the difference is that acrylics dry in minutes whereas oils take days. This is one of the major strengths of acrylic paint as it enables you to work more quickly.
Each stage in the development of our Burns portrait is explained in our step by step tutorial. Over the following pages we describe and explain the techniques and ideas involved in creating our image of the great poet.
The Portrait Commission
Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840)
Robert Burns (oil on canvas, 1787)
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Robert Burns (oil on canvas, 1787)
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Our acrylic painting was a portrait of Robert Burns, commissioned by Edward Thomson Meek, a former president of the Bridgeton Burns Club.
On agreeing to a commission it is very important for you, as the artist, to discuss and consider your client's ideas about the work in order to ensure that your approach to the project is acceptable to them. In this particular case, the only limitations imposed by the client was that the portrait should be '16X24' inches and based on the 18th century oil painting by Alexander Nasmyth. As there are so few first hand likenesses of Burns in existence, it was also suggested that a description of the poet by the young Sir Walter Scott be used to inspire the image: ".....the eye alone, I think, indicated the poetical character and temperament. It was large, and of a dark cast, and literally glowed when he spoke with feeling or interest. I never saw such another eye in a human head, though I have seen the most distinguished men of my time."
Our artist's aim was to create a painting of Burns that not only incorporated the ideas of the client but also reflected the vitality of the poet for modern times.
- A preparatory drawing should address any problems that you envisage in creating the image, e.g. the correct balance of proportion, tone and detail that give you the likeness you desire.
- A preparatory drawing should be the same scale as the painting so that it can be used to trace and transfer the final image onto the canvas.
A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 2
Transferring the Image to CanvasA stretched canvas prepared with several coats of acrylic gesso, each sanded smooth before the application of the next, provides the surface for our painting.The above line drawing was traced from our preparatory drawing and transferred onto the canvas ready to start the painting. A hard 2H pencil was used to outline the image on the canvas in order to prevent any smudging of the lead which would show up as a dirty mark beneath glazes of colour. You often get smudges when you use softer 'B' grade pencils.
The first task in painting our portrait is to complete the underpainting of each area of colour in the picture. The underpainting is the local colour applied to individual sections of the portrait: e.g. the flesh, hair, jacket etc.The form of the image will gradually be rendered by overpainting each section with transparent and opaque glazes. Therefore, the colours of the underpainting must be brighter than the colours you envisage in the final result as they will become darker when overpainted.The basic acrylic colours used for the underpainting of our portrait were: - a mixture of phthalocyanine blue and titanium white for the background
- permanent sap green for the jacket
- yellow medium azo for the waistcoat
- titanium white for the white of the shirt and eyeballs
- burnt sienna for the irises of the eyes
- a mixture of ivory black and prussian blue for the hair and the pupils of the eyes
- a mixture of unbleached titanium, burnt sienna and scarlet red for the flesh
Mixing Acrylic Paints
Although you can simply use water to thin acrylic colours to a suitable consistency, it is best to add some acrylic medium to maintain the durability and elasticity of the paint. Acrylic medium comes in bottles of gloss and matte medium to meet a range of surface effects. You need to experiment with various mixtures of paint, medium and water to create the type of glazes that suit your painting technique. Some artists will patiently build up many thin glazes of paint to achieve a specific result, while others want to get there fast and use thicker mixtures.
In our portrait, the underpainting is built up in thin flat layers of colour mixed with equal amounts of gloss and matte medium. This gives the overall paint surface a neutral sheen. One of the advantages of painting thinly is that you may still be able to see some of your drawing beneath the surface. This often depends on the natural opacity of the colours you choose. However, if you lose some of your image, don't worry as you still have your preparatory drawing to refer to. It is in the nature of most painting to regularly lose and re-establish areas of the work.
The underpainting of the background was done with several thin layers of an opaque light blue whereas the overpainting of the tone was built up from darker glazes of pure colours: Prussian Blue, Ultramarine and Cobalt Blue. Several blues were used to give the monochrome background an added depth of colour. A small amount of Titanium White paint is carefully blended around the edge of the head to increase its contrast with the background.
NB. The background should be painted over the outline of the portrait so that no gaps remain once the figure is completed.
The artist decided to use a graduated blue tone for the background for several reasons:
- blue is a colour that naturally recedes into the background.
- its strong tonal contrast dramatically illuminates the figure.
- the graduated tone suggests a depth to the background that extends beyond the perimeter of the portrait.
- blue is also the national colour of Scotland, the home of Robert Burns.
Painting Technique
The image above shows an actual size detail of a section of the background.
Technically, the background was probably the the most difficult and time consuming part of the picture to paint. The artist attempted a gradual transition of light to dark tones. This could have been applied more evenly with an airbrush, but the artist wanted the irregularity of the hand painted marks to unify the painting technique across the picture. The graduated effect was achieved by using small sable brushes and carefully stippling layers of transparent dark blue glazes over the light blue underpainting.
A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 3
Painting the Eyes
The eyes are the most important detail of a portrait and it is essential that you paint them first. They are the focal point of the face and the feature that brings the image to life. If, at the outset, you can suggest that spark of vitality which the eyes bring to a portrait, you will establish a strong foundation for the work, which in turn, will give you the confidence to tackle the other features of the face.
The Elements of the Eye
There are a few key elements that you need to capture in painting an eye: the solidity of the eyeball and surrounding eyelids, the luminosity of the iris, the depth of the pupil, and the reflected highlight on the surface of the eye.
The three images above illustrate the painting of the eye at different stages:
1. The image on the left illustrates the initial underpainting of the eye in flat colours.
2. The middle image shows the first application of dark and light colours which begin to establish the solidity of the eyeball and eyelids:
- The White of the Eye : a dark grey glaze is mixed from scarlet red, yellow medium azo and phthalocyanine blue and lightened with opaque titanium white. This is then applied in graduated layers to render the dark tones of the white of the eye. Note how the upper eyelid casts a strong shadow across the eye while the lower eyelid registers a weaker one. These shadows create the illusion that eyeball is resting comfortably in its socket.
- The Iris : glazes of burnt sienna and titanium white are combined to suggest the refracted light of the brown iris. A little prussian blue is added to darken the burnt sienna around the outer edge of the iris.
- The Pupil : ivory black with a hint of prussian blue is applied as the main colour of the pupil. A grey glaze, mixed with titanium white for its opaque qualities, conveys depth in the suggestion of a reflected image.
- The Reflected Highlight : this bright glint of light on the eye is built up with layers of thinly mixed titanium white.
- The Eyelids : the initial tone and form of the eyelids is sketched with strokes of a burnt sienna glaze.
All the fine details of our portrait were painted using sizes 1, 0 and 00 sable brushes.
Balancing the Eyes
The overall balance between the eyes is a key element in achieving any likeness. You should build up the painting of both eyes at the same time in order to capture the balance between them. This essential relationship is far more difficult to achieve if you bring one eye to a state of completion and then start on the other.
A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 4
Painting the Skin
The actual size detail above gives a close-up view of the painting technique used for the skin color.
A variety of small brushstrokes using stippling (paint applied in dots) and smudging techniques is used throughout the painting of the skin. Stippling gives you the greatest control over the distribution of color when applying paint over larger areas such as the cheeks.
The tones, colors and textures of the skin are all built up in thin layered glazes of paint applied over the flesh toned underpainting. Transparent glazes of burnt sienna (occasionally darkened with prussian blue) and napthol crimson are used for the darker tones and colors, while more opaque glazes of titanium white are used to create the highlights on the skin.
After underpainting the face with a mid-tone flesh color, there are three distinct steps that should be followed in painting the skin:
- applying the dark tones
- applying the light tones
- refining the tone, color and texture
1 - The Dark Tones
2 - The Light Tones
3 - Refining Tone, Color and Texture
Refining Tone, Color and Texture: in the final stage of painting the skin, warmer scarlet and napthol crimson glazes are used to suggest the blush of the cheeks, lips and subtle variations in the complexion.
The dark and light tones applied in the first two stages are finally heightened for dramatic effect by increasing their contrast and smoothing out any irregularities in their paint surface.
A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 5
Painting the Hair
The painting of the hair is usually the last part of the head to be completed. It follows the natural order of the painting, finally covering the rough edges of both the background and the skin. The colours used for the dark areas of the hair were ivory black and prussian blue, while the highlights were mostly titanium white.
The Technique
You can see the technique used for painting the hair in our actual size detail above. The underpainting was applied with freely brushed glazes of ivory black and prussian blue. The overpainted details of the hair were built up with fine strokes of black and white whose direction follows the contours of the haircut. The opacity of these brush strokes was varied to suggest the depth, texture and highlights of the hair. The density of the brushstrokes decreases around the edges of the hair to convey softness of its outline.
Painting the Eyebrows and Eye Lashes
The eyebrows and eye lashes are usually the same colour as the hair, but they are painted more delicately with the smallest brushes. The underpainting in these areas is simply the darker skin tone. The soft texture of the hair in the eyebrows and eye lashes is slowly built up with delicate strokes of a thinly mixed ivory black. It is very easy to overdo these features, so you should start by applying a few strokes, then stopping to check the effect. Apply a few more, then stop and check again. Continue this process until you achieve the satisfactory density of hair for the eyebrows and eye lashes.
A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 6
Painting Folds in Cloth - The Shirt
The underpainting of the shirt was built up with glazes of titanium white to create a luminous background onto which the darker tones of the folds were applied. Fortunately, the original pencil drawing was still visible through the underpainting and the form of the folds were easily outlined with a fine brush in grey. Finally, the soft texture of the material was suggested by using a transparent grey glaze (equal mixtures of red, yellow and blue ) that was carefully blended with small sable brushes.
Painting Folds in Cloth - The Waistcoat
The underpainting of the waistcoat was done in yellow medium azo. Next, the stripes inside the waistcoat were simply painted with several glazes of sap green to create a flat, even lines. The tones of the folds on the rest of the garment were rendered with glazes of sap green by gradually building up more layers to deepen the shades of the darkest areas.
Finally, the excessively bright yellow front of the waistcoat was subdued with several thin glazes of sap green. Glazes of prussian blue were then applied to deepen the tones the darkest areas.
In our actual size detail above, you can see the tonal, textural and colour effects of the paint surface on our shirt and waistcoat.
You can see that the folds on the shirt have been created by minute stippling with the grey glaze. The darker tones are more densely stippled than the lighter ones.
A similar painting technique is used for the softer folds of waistcoat. The dark tones of these folds were built up with stippled and smudged layers of of sap green. Prussian blue was then added to create the areas of deepest shade. Finally several transparent glazes of sap green were evenly stippled overall to subdue the luminous yellow front of the waistcoat. The resultant soft felt texture of the cloth was a by-product of this technique.
A Portrait of Robert Burns - Step 7
Painting Folds in Cloth - The Jacket
Artists often use a more spontaneous painting technique with looser brushwork and heavier pigment when they paint the outer clothing in a portrait. This is done to contrast with and consequently focus the sharper detail of the head.
For a similar reason, the tone and detail of our jacket darkens and diminishes towards the edge of the portrait to avoid any possible distraction from the focal point of the face.
The underpainting of the jacket was built up with several glazes of sap green to achieve a dark translucent surface. The edge of the lapels and collar of the jacket received fewer coats of the glaze to highlight their outline.
The rendering of the folds of the jacket cloth was achieved by following the usual process:
- applying the dark tones
- applying the light tones
- refining the tone, colour and texture
The Dark Tones were painted with thicker than usual glazes of prussian blue mixed with sap green and applied with a half inch hogs hair filbert brush. These darker tones establish the basic shape of the folds on the jacket. As you begin to paint more freely with a lager brush, it is important that you know exactly what you are trying to do. Therefore, the drawing of the shapes of the folds was worked out in advance in a preparatory study so that little was left to guesswork.
The Light Tones were painted with a mixture of permanent light green mixed with titanium white and applied with a quarter inch hogs hair filbert brush. It was important to use titanium white in the mixture as its opacity was necessary to cover the dark underpainting. The light tones begin to establish the highlights of the folds and the texture of the cloth. Their colour must be brighter than necessary because they will lose some of their intensity when they are blended into the underpainting.
Refining the Tone, Colour and Texture is the final stage in painting the jacket. The aim is to carefully blend and balance the dark and light tones with the underpainting, smoothing out any awkward looking bumps and filling in any irregularities in the paint surface in order to create a smooth fabric with natural folds. This process has the effect of reducing the contrasts between the darkest and lightest tones of the jacket and unifying the overall effect.
Painting Technique
The actual size detail above gives a close-up view of the painting technique used for the jacket.
The basic dark and light tones were rendered with larger and stiffer hogs-hair brushes to match the scale of the area being painted and for greater control over the thicker paint. Brushing and smudging was the technique that was most usefully employed at this stage.
The refinement of the tone, colour and texture was executed with thinner glazes of colour and mostly stippled with softer brushes to smooth out any irregularities. Some very fine glazes of white and yellow were carefully built up with small brushes to highlight the form, while glazes of prussian blue and ivory black were applied to increase the depth of the darkest areas.
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