Contemporary Realist Figure Painter
I have learned recently that a great way to see your value progressions and your painting in terms of value, thus removing hue and saturation; is to observe your piece through a red colored glass or acetate film. These are easily purchased through the internet, camera stores, etc. This technique allows you to see your piece as a series of values as it eliminates color from the scenario. While hue and saturation are important in mixing a color, value is a far more important quality to your decision making process. Afterall, value is what the human eye responds to first before hue and saturation.
Note how the red acetate simplifies the work into value scales and how colors that may appeared different might be much more closely related than initially tought. It is easy to see that while in some instances I believed the color to be working correctly, I may have considered adjusting the values more so to create a richer experience of the work in general. Some forms may have been further rendered including a step here or there to help to describe the form better as it turns in space. Value may also have been adjusted in large areas to create a better separation and compelling composition. Although the girl is obviously the center of attention and the values are generally successful here, had I utilized this approach from the beginning the value shifts might be more subtle and help to describe the form better. The thought here is simple, that while color is important, value is the key to creating realistic, life-like paintings. You may subscribe to this blog by following the link on the right hand side or the page or follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/wseccombe. Thank you.
I created this study during the recent painting of "Burlesque Girl." The dimensions on this particular study are 12x20" and I am very pleased with the outcome of the work. In many ways, I like it more than the finished product as this is a slightly larger portrait than the final painting and at this scale would have made quite an impact. I learned a lot about my approach in this little study such as my handling of soft edges and the building up of multiple layers of paint to produce a rich and interesting surface quality. In all, I wanted to take a moment to share this study with you in hopes that you might gain something by studying it. As always, I would encourage you to become a subscriber to my blog by following the link provided on the right hand side or follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wseccombe. Thank you.
Once the initial forms have been blocked in, I then moved onto laying in the darkest darks of the portrait by painting in the shadow forms first. This photo illustrates a step slightly further ahead however where I have moved onto painting the mid-tones.
During a break my palette was photographed which is a great example of the colors used and how I work. Reading from left to right beginning in what is the lower left hand corner of the palette and moving around clockwise the colors used are as followed:
Here I have begun to add in the background color as well as indicating his shirt which helps to anchor the portrait as well as accentuate the flesh tones. At this stage highlights have been painted in and are one of the last and thickest layers of paint.
Above is a figure drawing I did from the Society of Illustrators a couple years back with my good friend Fred Gissubel. It's a great place to go and draw while drinking wine and listening to live jazz. As always, please become a follower by subscribing to this blog in the right hand column. Also, you can find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wseccombe. Thank you.
In looking through some of my older drawings and paintings I discovered a small study that I painted over 10 years ago. I was looking for something small as a potential buyer was interested in work no larger than 16x20" for her small New York City apartment. I posted "Study of Richard" as I think it is still a valid piece and although this was done as a student and has problems, the work still exhibits many strengths. I most likely created this in a one hour session. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Become a follower of this blog by clicking the link the right hand column or follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wseccombe. Thank you.
Antonio Mancini (Italian b. 1852, Academic Painter) was born in Rome, Italy in 1852. At twelve, he was accepted into the Institute of Fine Arts "Istituto di Belle Arti" in Naples, where he studied under historical painter Domenico Morelli. Morelli was widely know for his use of energetic brushwork and application of chiaroscuro
(chiaroscuro: the treatment of dramatic light and shadow in a painting or drawing, an effect of contrasted light and shadow on a subject with a single light source.) Antonio developed rapidly under Morelli, and would soon exhibit two paintings at the Paris Salon at the youthful age of eighteen. In 1873 Mancini graduate from the academy and soon rented a studio in Napels with his friend Vincenzo Gemito.
Most of Mancini's work revolved around paintings of dancers, musicians, circus and street performers, as well as homeless children. His portrait "Saltimbanco" illustrates a young street performer whose life had been spent entertaining crowds. 
His painting, "The Poor Schoolboy", exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1876, is in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. It's realist subject matter and dark palette are typical of his early work. Paintings by Mancini can also be seen in various Italian museums such as Museo Civico-Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Turin and Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome.
In 1881, Mancini suffered a crippling mental illness. He settled in Rome in 1883 for twenty years and then later relocated to Frascati where he lived until 1918. During this period, Mancini was often very poor and relied upon the help of close friends and art buyers to survive. He struggled financially until a Dutch collector named Hendrik Willem Mesdag became his benefactor and signing him to a artistic contract. After World War I, his living situation improved and his work took on a new found sense of serenity. Antonio Mancini died in Rome in 1930.
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