Step 1: In this live portrait demonstration for one of my workshops, I placed the canvas directly beside my subject. The day before, I had stained my canvas a medium value with sap green, burnt umber, and odorless mineral spirits. The stain was completely dry when I began by drawing the large proportions with a brush.

Step 2: Thinking only of large shapes, simple values, and colors, I use #10 and #12 filbert brushes to broadly lay in the effect.

Step 3: Having established the overall effect and simplified forms in proper proportion to each other, the head is prepared for development of the features and more subtle modeling.

Step 4: Working in more detail, approximately 2 hours (with breaks) to this stage, a likeness begins to take shape.

Step 5: Having built the structure of the head from simple shapes to more detailed ones, it is taking on characteristics of my model. Here I have prepared the eye sockets which are now ready to accept the details of the eyes.

Step 6: After several hours of work, I am nearing completion of this life study. The details have been added only after feeling secure with the larger shapes, values, and colors in relationship to one another. I have found again and again, if the painting does not work in its simpler forms, adding detail will not make it stronger–it only weakens a poor effect.

Andrew Byrd

George Creagh