"Sweet Baby James" is the fifth work—a color sketch—in the "Seven Paintings in Seven Days (or more) Challenge." Referring to a pencil sketch, I drew this little man's face and features on the watercolor paper and began painting. His sweet looks and nature were evident in the pencil sketch. Translating what a I saw in the drawing and in my memory onto the watercolor paper was a challenge.
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| Sweet Baby James |
Babies' faces (from birth to about 2 years) are very smooth and round. Only the iris of the eye is fully developed, giving eyes a buttony appearance. A baby's cranium is large in proportion to the face; features—chin to eyebrows occupy only (about) one-fourth of the whole head. Proportions change rapidly as a baby/child grows. Because babies and children move around a lot, it helps to work from photos and/or magazine clippings.
The Process: Referring to the sketch, I used a 6B pencil to draw (lightly) directly onto the watercolor paper—placing the eyes, nose, mouth, head/face, ears, and hair. My paper was 100 lb. weight, an inexpensive wood pulp variety with a smooth finish (not recommended). I worked wet (paint) on dry (paper). Colors—not a typical triad this time—included cadmium red, cadmium yellow, orange, and various greens, among them Veridian. I took a deep breath, picked up a large, soft brush, mixed a light flesh tone wash from the yellow, orange, red, and green, and applied it, watching what happened, and continued on from there. As the face and features took form, I tried to be mindful of balancing the warms and cools (having one dominant); and lights, mid-tones, and darks.
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