Reflections of an Artist

« Painting Near to Home | Main | Painting in the Park »

Portraits By the Sea

By Sharon Weaver on 3/9/2008 12:57:53 PM 3 Comments

Sharon's Quick Sketch of Model

Saturday three famed portrait painters, Jeremy Lipking, F. Scott Hess and Sean Chatham, demonstrated their skills in the courtyard of the Long Beach Museum of Art. Although I paint landscapes, I knew this was a rare opportunity to watch talented painters at their best.
The first thing I noticed was the beautiful color palette that Jeremy Lipking uses for his painting. Besides the usual Ultramarine Blue, White, Orange and Burnt Sienna is a cobalt blue, teal and lavender that he mixes himself. Jeremy works his magic with a painstaking eye for detail. His colors are slowly layered to achieve real depth and life to the figure. I am including a few pictures of Jeremy's study which show his process of layering subtle skin tones over each other to give life to the face.

Jeremy Lipking and the Model

First Impressions

More Detail

Painting at End of Demo

        He started with a terracotta base for the skin and added blue and green flesh tones over the initial under-painting. He also used that lavender color for highlighting that really pops out on the forehead. Though only a rough study the beauty of Jeremy's painting is easy to see.
        During one of the breaks, I took a look at the portrait show that was on display at the museum. The three artist who where painting in the courtyard where also in the show. I particularly liked Sean Chatham's work. His paintings have an edge which showed in his version of the live model too. His portrait of her had the street smarts attitude that was a part of her.
        The demonstration was a great opportunity for everyone to see art in the making and it was all free. Thank you Long Beach Museum of Art for this opportunity and I hope there will be more events like this in the future.

Connect:

Share:

Comments

3 Responses to Portraits By the Sea

Owen Johnson
via sharonweaver.com19 months ago

I guess I'm a few years late, but thanks for the great post. I wish I could have been there; Lipking is one of my favorite painters for sure. You wrote, "Besides the usual Ultramarine Blue, White, Orange and Burnt Sienna is a cobalt blue, teal and lavender that he mixes himself." I'm curious, do you mean he mixes a custom cobalt blue himself? His cobalt often does appear lighter than most... If you know how he does it that would be great. Thanks again!

Sharon Weaver
via sharonweaver.com19 months ago

I asked him about the three colors and unfortunately he premixed these colors before coming to the demo. I may have a photo of his palette. If I do I will post it in another blog.

Owen Johnson
via sharonweaver.com19 months ago

Thanks a lot. I appreciate you taking the time respond. I found your blog through this post, but I've really enjoyed looking through your other posts too.

Thanks again.