Darcey Again

After completing the small, face portrait of Darcey, Jay and Julia Wheatley of Lakeside Garage in Wraysbury commissioned a larger, 18 x 24 inch portrait in a woodland scene. When I saw the picture I was a little daunted, but happily agreed. 

I had to discard the first version of this portrait. Not only had I started off too large with the head that the feet wouldn't fit in comfortably, I also painted it on a light background. The problem with this is that the shadows and depth of her coat has to be painted in, darkness onto light, which I didn't think was particularly effective at implying depth. 

The attempt was getting a bit thick and messy so I discarded it before I wasted anymore time on it. I started again but on black primed ply-board, meaning that I can paint the whiteness of her coat and the highlights of the hair in, with the depth and shadow already supplied by the background. 

I was happy with the size of Darcey on the board, and that her dimensions were accurate and consistent with each other. This is the most time consuming and fickle part of the composition. In her elegant and statuesque pose, Darcy gives of an aura of strength and grace. To achieve this on a 2D image, I had to ensure that the subtle colours that run through her hair (which indicate depth) are in the correct place and are in proportion to the other particulars of her form. This requires continuous gauging, recalculation, amendment - then allowing my eyes to rest because they become distorted - the staring all over again. This smallest stroke, glint of light, makes a huge difference, especially when the image focuses in more on her stance and poise than her facial features. 

Once I was happy with Darcey, I began working on the background. I wanted a brightness to the autumn leaves, but also a ghostly, haunting affect with the trunks of the tress, as though flowing into one and other, drizzling. I added slightly more detail to the background that immediately surrounds her body, then tapered the detail outwards towards the peripheral. When you look directly at the centre of the picture, at Darcey, it appears as the background is detailed. 

Jay and Julia were overjoyed.