Step 1: Establish Size and Placement
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The Layout
(Steps 1 through 7)
What the reader will find on these pages is, in fact, the very
painting approach communicated to me by Samuel Edmund Oppenheim
at the Art Students League some thirty-five years ago. I have
dressed it up a bit and added a few frills, but it is the same
direct, simple approach Mr. Oppenheim demonstrated for us in
those years. We begin by making a simple drawing, or "layout"
with the brush... |
Hover to zoom final painting |
| Begin by placing four strokes: First, a stroke
to indicate the highest point on the head or hair. Make this
stroke about 2½ inches down from the top edge of the
canvas. Then, second, make a stroke at the lowest point on the
head (the bottom of the chin). These two strokes establish the
size of the head (usually 9½-10 inches). Use a sculptor's
calipers, actually measuring the sitter's head, to get it right,
if necessary. Third, a vertical stroke to indicate the point
farthest to the left on the head, and, fourth, a vertical stroke
to mark the farthest point to the right. These four strokes
are most important four strokes in the painting. Take all the
time necessary to get them right. Do not go on to less important
things until these are right. These four strokes establish the
size of your main subject (the head) and its placement on the
canvas. If these are not right, nothing which follows will be
right. |
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