A Different Sort of Facebook

(C) 2014 Dale DiMauro

This is a little watercolor painting I did from a photograph. It is 7" x 10" done in an arches watercolor book among 25 portraits of men and women. 

I start by sketching the face right onto the watercolor paper with an HB pencil.  I develop the values enough in pencil so that the face has definition and shape. In considering the composition prior to painting I want to make the portrait as straightforward as possible. I try not to include anything, which would detract from the focal point - the person. In this case the clothing and how it falls around the head and shoulders is rather important. 

I wash in the background first by going over the whole sheet. In watercolor the paint dries much lighter than when it first goes on, so multiple applications are needed. I then build up the values of the skin while paying attention to the lips and eyes before addressing clothing last.

I have been told these little portraits capture a simple quality of the person without overworking the details. At this scale you can only include so much.  My art mentor Gerarde Doucette tells me these portraits remind him of Alice Neel portraits. I'm not sure. What do you think?