Portrait of Gigi Procreate for iPad
Portrait of Gigi Procreate for iPad

Before the 10,000 hours cliché, one of my college painting instructors taught us that we have 50 bad paintings in us that we must expunge before we can get a good one.

If your portraits trigger facial recognition software, is that a good thing?
If your portraits trigger facial recognition software, is that a good thing?

I think the statute of limitations on that runs out after about 10 years or so and you have to start over. I think also that it’s 50 per medium or style. Say you make 15 landscapes and 10 portraits; you’re not half way there. Just over a third.

8 skin tones and smudgy lips
8 skin tones and smudgy lips

I recalled that lesson last Thursday during open studio. I realized I’ve gotten about halfway to 50 with portraits on the iPad - and I can sense that I’m starting to turn the corner and reclaim the skills that I let atrophy.

This time around I focused on value and shape. I didn’t do a detailed sketch first. I just built up shapes and values. I started by building a palette of 8 skin tones. I took advantage of blending layers to bring in subtle reflected colors and reds. Better. It’s a solid C+.