Charles Reid Workshop 2015 – Day 8

People today (no more flowers thank God) and we got to paint nude models.   Charles was very wary of this and said we’d need all the luck we could get which shows you the amount of confidence he has in us.

This is mine – I went further than I would usually do with all the drapery and stuff which is probably too much but I didn’t care at that point.

It’s hard painting in workshops and I feel overly inhibited from trying much that’s new so everything is overly tentative.  It’s worth coming to watch Charles paint however.

Charles Reid figure painting
Charles Reid figure painting

And this is his painting of the second pose.

Charles Reid Workshop 2015 – Day 7 Painting 2


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This one was a ‘throw caution to the wind’ affair.   After the first rather tight rendition of the flowers I wanted to see if I could inject a bit more energy into things.   It was *really* tough and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing most of the time.   It’s not perfect but I’m definitely moving the dial a little.

Charles Reid Workshop 2015 – Day 7 Painting 1


I don’t seem to have a photo of the setup for this one.  I’m getting sloppy.

Anyway – I tried a couple of different things in this painting.  First – less water and more paint.  In fact more paint than I could reasonably think I need.   Second – I worked the flowers a little more than I would normally to see if more detail would improve them.   The first change wored well I think – things aren’t washed out and things pop.  A little garish maybe but I’ll take it.

The flowers didn’t work out so well.   Too fussy but you never know unless you try.

Charles Reid Workshop 2015 – Day 4 Painting 1

So this afternoon the first model was Gina.  She has wonderful curly red hair and a really intense expression.  She was great fun to paint and came out well.

Charles Reid workshop drawing
Charles Reid workshop drawing

First washes and some detail in the features.  This was another 20 minutes (I’m speeding up).

Charles Reid workshop starting the face
Charles Reid workshop starting the face

More detail in the features and the start of the hair.

Charles Reid workshop portrait of Gina by Michele Clamp
Charles Reid workshop portrait of Gina by Michele Clamp

Charles Reid Workshop 2015 – Day 3

Charles Reid workshop - portrait drawing
Charles Reid workshop – portrait drawing

Charles did the drawing and then went through the colors – cad red and cad yellow for skin tones with added cerulean for cooler areas.

Charles Reid portrait first washes
Charles Reid portrait first washes

Our model in a rest period.

Charles Reid portrait face detail
Charles Reid portrait face detail

My view.  Second row today.

Charles Reid portrait hair
Charles Reid portrait hair
Charles Reid workshop - starting on the face Michele Clamp
Charles Reid workshop – starting on the face Michele Clamp

20 minutes in – the drawing is done and I was very happy so far. I had a bit of trouble with the cheek shadows but there wasn’t much I could do so I left it.

Charles Reid workshop - finished portrait by Michele Clamp
Charles Reid workshop – finished portrait by Michele Clamp