Paint A Male Figure In Oils

When painting a male figure with his back turned towards the viewer, one is already communicating a great deal. Adding movement to the figure, and placing him in tension with his surroundings, by allowing him to run off the canvas, even more is added to the visual story. I show you how to paint this figure, all the while exploring what the painting is attempting to communicate to the viewer.

The painting is done on a piece of paper torn from a Gouache Paper Pad.

The paper is sturdy and handles paint well.

I draw the figure in charcoal using free an imprecise strokes. By not adding too much detail, I retain the anonymity of the figure.

After brushing the loose particles of charcoal away, I reinforce the most important lines with a bold black marker.

The background is painted with a palette knife. I use Buff Titanium as the setting is unimportant and does not give any information about the figure away.

Indian red is added to the outer edges of the painting. This warms up the surroundings and make the impersonal figure slightly more personable.

I use Phthalo Blue, Payne's Grey and Titanium White to paint the trousers. This is reminiscent of jeans and makes our figure a working man.

Lamp Black and Buff Titanium is mixed to create a warm grey for his jacket. This is a very nondescript colour which accentuates the fact that we are not dealing with a metro man.

Mixes of Titanium White and Buff Titanium is used for the lighter areas of the jacket.

The man's head and face is completed with colours taken from the existing palette. Who have I painted? I have painted any man out there who finds himself in a setting where he dominates his surroundings. He is a man with a place in life, and is on his way somewhere. There is nothing distinctive about him and yet he is worth acknowledging. By painting no one in particular, I have painted someone that every viewer will be familiar with.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
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