Irish Fiddler Dylan Foley

At a house concert in upstate New York, I open my gouache sketchbook in my lap to paint Irish fiddle champ Dylan Foley.


(Link to video on YouTube)

Here's what I try to do at each stage:

Step 1. The watercolor-pencil drawing locates

the elements. A big gray wash lowers the tone.

There's a moment of hesitation as I worry that 

the wash will erase the drawing.

Step 2. I place the features as spots, as if

I'm seeing the scene out of focus. Next, the

big darks establish the poster-like pattern.

Step 3. Interpreting the tones of the face in two 

values first, then finding halftones and variations.

Because Dylan is in constant motion, I can find

the most characteristic aspects that would not 

show up in a static pose.  

Step 4. Bringing in some background color, I

now have all the basic tones and colors worked out

and can begin focusing on nuances. Things like

glasses and details of the fiddle can wait.

Step 5. Gouache lets me get small details but 

also I can go back and soften edges. I want the

blow hand blurry because it's always in motion,

so I soften the paint and set up a blur. 

Finish. I letter his name with a fountain pen in the Irish 

Gaelic Alphabet. Some of the action lines on the 

far left are done with a gray watercolor pencil.

On Instagram, vjoy1 asks: "How do u fix a pose when subject is moving...??. and what is your motive to achieve extreme likeness or a representation?"

jamesgurneyart@vjoy1 Musicians reliably return to poses. As they move around, you seek after the most characteristic aspects of the person. You can’t get that with a static pose, which is why 19th century portrait painters like Sargent, Sorolla, and Zorn worked from dynamically moving or talking subjects.-----
Previously: Gouache Materials List

Dylan Foley / Deliriously Happy 
Bandcamp

Amazon Music
Apple Music

Dylan Foley and Dan Gurney / Irish Music of the Hudson Valley
Bandcamp
Amazon Music

Portraits in the Wild / Painting People in Real Settings
Gumroad
Sellfy
DVD from manufacturer
DVD from Amazon