It's been nearly a year I made a portrait painting. Yes, nearly all my artworks have been done using a pen and just a few were done with a pencil. Well, that is not hard to comprehend. I think I am addicted to drawing with a pen and using blue precisely.
This time around, I chose to work with oil color and it was really a huge challenge. My hand was stiff, unwilling to respond with the flow of brush strokes but as I proceeded, things started getting easier.
My greatest challenge was the manipulation of black and white photos of this man to colored work - I tried to use my intuition to transform the work into colored images.
I believe most of you will know this man at a glance. He is Martin Luther King Jr. The work took me roughly a month to complete and I would say it is a warm-up for bigger things ahead. I did this work in February but I'm Unveiling it today for the world to see.
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 16 by 20 inches
Model: Martin Luther King Jr
Artist: Maxwell Marcus (
Below are my step by step processes:
Step 1:
From my first shot, you will see the black and white photo on the small wood, my pallets with colors on it, my pallet knife and a few brushes.
At this stage, I have sketched out my model and completed the first layer with different random colors outside the real color.
Step 2:
I have molded the face by applying almost the real color of his face using my intuition. I have also painted the background as my first coating.
Step 3:
At this stage, the face is completed as well as his suit. I gave him a red tie. I was currently working on the background here using sky blue.
Step 4:
At this stage, the background is completed and the portrait is set.
I have also been contemplating adding more brighter colors or white to the background to make it look brighter. What do you think?
Your comments and suggestions will be highly appreciated.
Thank you.