The canvas size is 30" x 60" this is a fairly large scale painting.
The work will be four portraits of the lads. My reference pics that I am using are made up of four separate images that I will be blending together to make one final piece.
The way I start on a piece this big is a very basic grid that helps me get all the necessary proportions correct. I usually cross the sizes and shapes of the heads and then the centre of each face. Also the position of the eyes in relation to the nose and mouth.
The next step is to block in the basic forms and shadows of each face and build up a good base to work over. I dont worry too much about likeness. You can basically tell who each one is, but I really work on the exact likeness later in the work after all the fundamentals are in place.
The base of the "blocking in" i use a very light wash of in this case Paynes Grey, Burnt Umber and very light and watered down Bone Black with a 1" flat brush. The reason for these base colours is the fact that the final piece will be in Black and White. Acrylic is great for layering and building up. The warm burnt umber gives a nice warmth to the under paint and helps me with the tonal values for the next layer.
Once I have a good foundation of the portraits I like to get the rest of the canvas covered so I can get a better idea of the lights and darkness of the images. It's amazing how much the colours change when you add in a background and the weight of the black jackets etc. The jackets will be just blocked in solid and the subtle details will go on later to build up the realistic look and feel of the clothing.
So far I have built up the background, and major solid areas. This will allow me to now start working on details, fine tuning proportions, size of heads and mop tops. I actually like the sepia look... I may leave it in, but that will come with time and on the fly decisions made during the process. That is the beauty of painting... to be able to go with the flow and change things around.
This is the work so far... The first few hours go by very quickly and there are big leaps in coverage. The work will start to slow down once the details start going in. I could work for an hour on an eye and you may not even see the big difference. I will continue to work through the piece and explain what is happening each step of the way. Stay tuned for more to come!!!
Next I will take close ups of each face and go through the basic portrait techniques.
So, here we have John. The first is roughed in from the initial paint sketch. Next step is to build up a base and block in some areas. I start by laying down a thin wash of titanium white mixed with some burnt umber and just a hint of paynes grey.
After softening the face and laying down the first "skin" with some form, it actually starts to look a bit more like John... still a long way to go, but Im feeling happy with a basic likeness. As mentioned before the likeness isnt important to me at this stage. It's more about the form and proportions.
I was initially going to paint the whole piece in black and white, but then was thinking about a sepia vintage tone. In actual fact, I didnt like the way either was looking because the images are so large, the subtle face structure gets lost. This is the Beatles when they were young and baby faced. So, I have decided with artistic license to paint the whole piece in colour. My reference pics are black and white, but imagination and research will have to be the key to this getting done.
There are many more hours of detail to go into the face, but for now I am happy to go onto Ringo and get him to the same stage. All four to this point is a good way to refer to each one and get them all with the same look. Then work in the minute details.
This next pic shows the development of John. I decided where I would normally paint each face to the same stage every step.. for this insight into the work and for it to be more engaging I would complete each Beatle individually. John is becoming more and more defined and detailed.
This is where I will tweek things like the shape of the face. Thin out the jaw line, fix the hair and shape of the head. It is layered with base undertones and then light semi transparent washes are added building up skin tone, texture and shape working up to the highlights.
So far I am fairly pleased with the progress. I will probably at some point today move on to Ringo and start the same process with him. John is still in need of quite a bit of really detailed work that will probably come at the end. The clothing will all be done later. For now I am concentrating on the likeness and balance. Now John is almost there, the others have to match up.
Ringo is next. I really like this pose of Ringo with him laughing. All my memories of The Beatles were with Ringo usually clowning around. He had a real comical energy compared to the others, although they all had very good comic timing and great senses of humor.
Basically the same as John with the undertone layers building up sculpting the face.
Adding some warm shadows and defining the mouth and nose. Setting the eye shapes and defining the teeth. It is beginning to take shape as Ringo at this point.
I really enjoyed painting Ringo. I have painted John and Paul numerous times throughout their careers, but never really a proper Ringo.
One thing you may have noticed is the composition.. no real defining shoulders, or scale of depth. The 4 separate images I have blended to almost look like one new image, but kept the shoulders all blended so they kind of are all joined. I like this idea of them all being molded together because I think they were pretty close with all the experiences they went through. The concept may change later in the painting, but I don't think so.
A basic look at the Ringo process.
The painting is starting to come to life now.. 2 of the 4 are almost complete. So far so good!! Here is a look at John and Ringo together...
Next up will be Mr George Harrison.. Stay tuned!!! And thanks for taking the time to follow along! Hope you are having as much fun as I am!
