This is a six week pose, for a new class I am taking, with the teacher John Wellington. You can see his work at www.johnwellington.com . It is a class designed to instruct in old master techniques. I am learning to do the underpainting, or grisage, and then slowly build up the painting with thin layers. My background or impramatura is red, the underpainting is a brown ochre, which is probably what Velasquez, Rembrandt and Ingres used. I focused on the anatomy and proportions in the first few sessions, with constant efforts at correction. Now I am laying in the color. On the most recent class, compare the model's outstretched arm, painted by the teacher as a demo, to my brush strokes. He strenghthems the shadow forms and uses very subtle strokes to blend the darks into the lights, fighting for the half-tones. In contrast, my technique seems impressionistic or expressionistic, with choppy strokes and a myriad of colors. It is a bit complicated and thus the form gets muddied. I feel I have lost my strong contrasts and need to reestablish them next session. I also need to simplify the flesh tones and not keep it so busy, with reds and oranges. Only one more class, so my work is set out.
