Self-portrait - A Closer Look

There were some requests from family members that I post my self-portrait that I painted 2 weeks ago on my blog. It is from a photo taken when I was about 3 years old. It was taken in the children's pool at the Worcester municipality swimming pools. We often went there when visiting my grand parents during holidays. They stayed very close to the swimming pools and I remember we often walked there.

With this figure / portrait study I worked with a limited palette to produce a monochrome painting. Although it might look as if I have used black and white, there is not a single drop of black paint on the canvas. I use Ultramarine blue, Burnt umber and Raw sienna to create the darks and I just add white to create the lighter values. At the end I just added a few patches of Raw sienna here and there to bring in some colour. I very seldom use black in my paintings. Black is a very dead and flat colour to use. If you mix other colours to create your darks it has much more depth and it adds interest to the paintings. I like the combination of Ultramarine, Burnt umber and Raw sienna, because it also adds warmth.

The top picture is a photo of the original photo, and the bottom picture is then my painting.
If you want a painting or paintings of yourself or your children when they were young, you are most welcome to contact me. My contact details are also on my website: Painted Canvas. There will also find a collection of most of my paintings. Make sure to visit my website often because I will almost weekly add new paintings. Enjoy!