A Creation of: Ann Joyce

It might seem less accurate than a nice, tight paintbrush, but the feel you can get with you finger tip is invaluable when blocking in the dimensions. My first imperative is to ensure that the whole if the face will fit into the allotted area. There is a certain intimacy engendered and shared with your creation when you start it off with your finger; it also allows one's gaze to view the early composition from a slightly more standoffish point of view.   

Still using my finger I colour off some blocks of paint, always trying to follow the planes of the face and I therefore push my finger in the "direction" of the skin. This may appear to be a slightly alien concept, but like hair on a dog has a direction, so does skin. By painting in different directions, you get to hint at the topography of the face without drawing ridges.  

I've used some strong colours for the skin tone in this study. It's a Freudian tweek. I will soften the skin tone a little after I come close to completing the portrait. I use a large brush, as well as my index finger or thumb, to drag the further elements of the face and neck into the composition, always explicitly aware of the dimensions of the features that I have already given form to, as this provides the scaffolds for the rest. 

I've already completed a portrait of Ann, for which I will release a blog entry soon, painted from an indoor scene. This a study of her in an outdoor light. There is no heavily glint of light from the corneas and her shiny indoor complexion reacts with the light differently in the sunshine. It picks up lovely colours in her skin tone.