Acrylic painting beginning

As I’ve said before, the Queen paintings are going to be actual, physical paintings. I’m working in acrylic since that’s the easiest medium (besides watercolor) for what I can do in my space. And by space I mean a corner in my bedroom.

It’s been awhile since I’ve painted figures in acrylic. (Have I ever? I’m confused.) Trying to mix accurate skin tones is a bit of trial and error. The dry time is a hurdle. After a few hours of painting I found that it wasn’t going too well. I ended up doing a pass of colored pencils. That gave me a little more control of where I was putting color. I was also able to adjust the colors to be closer to the digital painting.

The process:

First, I transferred the sketch onto the canvas board with transfer paper. I sealed the drawing with spray fixative and a layer of clear gesso because the fixative makes the surface shiny and smooth.

The third image above is where I’m at with the first painting. There’s still a lot of work to be done on the skin. Then the hair and background are the last steps.