Silverton, a Portrait...

Silverton, watercolor on paper, 11x15

Still inspired by the colors, scenes and interesting characters I saw on the 4th of July parade, I decided to do another portrait.

As in my last post, of "Star-Spangled," I was trying to portray the patterns of light cast over the figure by a straw hat. This gentleman's hat had a courser mesh and let more light through, so I was also bolder in my style. I used a very direct approach, with a basic drawing and no masking fluid or any other aids. I created the highlights negatively, that is, I painted directional lines in a grid to create the highlights. I used rough paper and less softening of color transitions, in order to accentuate the ruggedness of the man and his environment.

I had intended to capture a series of photos of the different stages of the painting process, but got so intent on the painting itself that I only remembered to pause to take photos twice. I have included the resulting photos below.