October Artist of the Month - Kelly Oakes

October Artist of the Month - Kelly Oakes
This piece is called "Grandma's Beach" and its is an oil on linen 18"x 24". Most of my work is done from a live model in front of me, although I do some commission work from photos.
This piece was done this summer at the Art Students League in NYC. It took about 3weeks, 3 hours a day/5days a week. Working from life is a privilege as the model is working harder than the artist and it is so much harder than anyone thinks.
I first do thumbnail sketches to get a good composition. Then I do color sketches and then finally do an underpainting on a toned canvas. I work very thinly at first, blocking in color to establish values. Then I gradually paint thicker, always comparing colors and values. I don't always have this much time with a model or to work this long and detailed on a portrait. The pictures below begin to show progression as I add color and depth to the piece.
Over the month I will post a few photos of some portraits that I did in a few hours each to show another side of my work. More "a la prima".... painting wet/all at once.