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Head Before Features
I agree with Greene in that the placement and size of the facial features must be correct,
but I find it works better for me to build a three-dimensional head and then add the features than to begin with measurements of the features and then build a head around them. If I go for the head form first, I can establish the angle at which the head is held, which bears on the mood and the personality of the subject as part of his/her body language. I can more easily visualize the correct placement, size and angle of the features after the general form of the head is developed through shadow and light, as well as the hair shape and forehead shape, all of which serve as reference to aid in the positioning of the smaller details. I forestall painting the eyes as long as I can, until the head appears fully three-dimensional.
I almost always do at least one charcoal and chalk study of the subject on grey paper, from direct observation, before I begin painting. This is something I can do in an hour or so, during which I become more familiar with the sitter's personality as well as his/her features. The study then serves as reference material in the painting of the portrait, along with a small color sketch I execute in oils at the first or second sitting, which takes me about 45 minutes. There are no details in the color sketch, just the colors observed directly. With the charcoal and chalk study and the color sketch as reference, I can carry the painting along pretty far before I require the sitter to pose again. I do some measuring when necessary, but my eye is pretty accurate without needing to work sight-size or having to rely too heavily on measuring. I can spot when something is off, and then I set about correcting it.
I most often pose the clothes on a mannequin, and arrange them to suit my aesthetic sense. I have several mannequins, which I modify however I deem necessary for each project.
The method I describe here was common practice before photography came on the scene. When the artist executes his own reference material, he knows his subject better when he begins the painting. The client almost always buys the charcoal sketch too, and this puts a few more dollars in the artist's pocket.
Virgil Elliott
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