YellowBear recently had his first SFØ Bearthday. To commemorate the occasion, I brought him and his posse (with whom I have a little history) to my studio for a formal portrait sitting.
This first player portrait inspired two others of Lunch and myself.

I'll guide you through a little taste of my process:

First I got really anal retentive with the porportions:



I used tracings of this line drawing as my basis for many of the other steps.
I did a quick value study because otherwise I tend to make everything medium values.



Then I used a photocopy of this to do a color study. I didn't like how he looked under normal warm lighting as it took away from his handsome yellowness:



So I placed him under blue lighting to see what would happen and redid the color study:



Gouache paint is a difficult medium. It doesn't mix well on the canvas:



I pre-mixed all the colors in ice cube trays:



I would mix, paint a little on a chip of illustration board, wait for it to dry, hold it up to various parts of the subject (core shadow, highlights, reflected light, etc.), and repeat until it looked like the color might work. Then I applied a rough undercoat where each more or less was supposed to go.
Then began my first attempt at color stippling. Making just the right mix of zillions of tiny dots is time consuming, but I am pleased that the colors worked.


Still Life with YellowBear and Ninja Posse.
Gouache on illustration board.

In spite of its pointillistic style, I think it has a mildly photorealistic touch (try looking from a distance or squinting) which I didn't think I would be able to pull off as I was not terrifically experienced with painting in color or using gouache. This demonstrates the effectiveness (for me) of pure time. Hours spend adjusting and readjusting, days of staying up until long after the sun came up again.

YellowBear was, as always, a gracious Bear throughout the entire process. I hope he enjoys his portrait, wherever he may be wandering...

* * *

Then the Puddin' Head became a little jealous of my attentions to Mr. Bear, and commissioned her own portrait. Miss Head's refined sensibilities made her a difficult client to please. Refusing to sit in the same position for days at a time, she insisted I use one of her player photographs:




She once had me start over. I had tried to speed things up by painting a layer of gesso with fur textures underneath, but the results were deemed unsatisfactory. She wagged her tail in that way she does when she wants to indicate that something looks too much like a velvet Elvis for her classy tastes:



She expressed befuddled exasperation that I insisted on experimenting by painting her in green and maroon (her fur does not actually grow in those colors). I fear she may have been right if only because I stopped in frustration before spending quite the same grueling amount of time I spent on YellowBear's portrait. If I'd kept going, I think the greens and brilliant oranges and pinks and grays and maroons would blend better in the viewers eyes to look like the right browns.
However she did ultimately stare demonically for an extended period of time to indicate her grudging approval.



To round out the numbers, I painted one more, a self-portrait of myself breaking in my new magic wand in a moonlit SF windowsil. I had a lot of fun making up weird rim lighting on this one. And playing with my magic wand to the peril of those below.



All in all, I'm feeling good about my tentative steps into semi-realistic color painting with gouache! Time consuming, but meditative. Mmm... All three portraits are hung above the mantle.