New Eyes, a babies oil painting portrait.

by Bobby Jones
(Princeton, WV, US )

portrait of an infant entitled

portrait of an infant entitled

First off, a huge thank you to Mr. Phelps for sharing your talent and knowledge to the public. Finding information on the flemish technique or any other for that matter seems nearly impossible.

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I purchased Mr. Phelps' DVD and E-Book a few weeks back after getting frustrated with the very limited information available online which for me rendered very limited results with oils due to lack of knowledge. I knew the result I wanted in my mind, just did not know how to achieve it. After watching and reading I was very excited to start this new technique and process in the flemish style.

I started two still life paintings following Mr. Phelps lessons the best I could. In both, I reached the "dead layer" and realized that I was way too dark on the "burnt umber under layer", which really hindered the "dead layer". However, I did not give up at that point because I could already see that possiblities that these techniques opened to me.

Which brings me to the painting your viewing. This is my third canvas attempt using the flemish technique. I decided to go for broke and attempt a portrait, with the feeling I was starting to grasp the general concepts.

This is a portrait of my new nephew! It is done on 8x11 stretched canvas. I used oils and the mediums Mr. Phelps discusses. I usually get to paint for an average of 1-2 hours at night when all are in bed and before I pass out face first in the paint and have to get up again. With that being said, at this point I have approximately 35-40 hours invested over the course of about 3-4 weeks.

At this stage I have almost completed the "dead layer". I think 1-2 more sittings will wrap it up. There is still work to be done on the hand, blanket, and shirt. I would also like to add more depth to the left cheek. I'm very excited and scared at this point because with Mr. Phelps' help, at least in my mind, I have yeilded the best results I've ever achieved by a long shot. However, with the learning curve of two canvases, I'm leary of a first "color layer" attempt, here goes the learning, anyway!!

Sorry for rambling a bit, and for those who have made it this far and have felt the way I tried to explain at the top, I wanted to convey the great help this material has been. Thanks again for helping me enjoy art again after lots of questions and frustration.

I will post final results when complete. Good luck to all and enjoy making art that will last forever!

Editors note:
Thank you so much for the kind words Bobby. You have captured this little ones innocence, and are well on the way of a very special painting. Your color glazes will be wonderful, take your time and allow this layer to dry well so that if you are unhappy with a color layer, you can wipe it off and still have this.

Please post your completed work, and I will combine them into one post for folks to see.

Again, thanks for the kind words.

Best wishes,
Delmus

PS, I may move this over into the portrait section at some time, so if you don't find it here, check the portrait section of the site.

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