Self-Portrait

Creating Harmony with a Limited Palette 

- Mike Wimmer

As a professional artist since the age of people. As an educator since 1986, the one question I get from students repeatedly is how to draw and paint a likeness. People are difficult only in that we are extremely objective about likeness, proportions, emotional connection, etc. Empathy is one of our greatest assets as artists and as teachers. So, in these exercises and demonstrations, I chose a subject that I am very familiar with my face. I set up some light sources in my studio, one being natural north light, as this is a traditional approach to creating cool highlights and contrasting warm shadows. The other portrait was set up using a warm incandescent light with a soft diffuser. In both cases I wanted to create the look of an Old Masters painting.

In order to get a good likeness, I have developed a simple approach that is based on the alignment of the facial features, e.g. eyes, nose, mouth, ears and tilt of the head, as well as proportions. Using the head height as my unit of measurement, I break down the proportions of the major facial features, and using "artistic license" I adjust for vanity. I will then use these sketches to transfer the likeness to my painting surface, in this case a Raymar C15DP 11-by-14-inch panel. I like painting the human head smaller than life size.

PORTRAIT ONE