Figurative Oil Painting Demonstration By Lacey Lewis

About Lacey

Working mainly in oil, Lacey Lewis is an award winning contemporary realist figurative artist who paints in a classical style. Whether or not one is versed in the elusive language of visual design, Lacey’s paintings communicate to the viewer as she purposefully chooses recognizable aspects of reality to recreate on the canvas. It is vital to Lacey that her art at a minimum expresses the beauty that she observes in her subject. Often that expression of beauty is an end in and of itself. Other times, it is used as a lure to entice the viewer to look a little longer so that a deeper meaning or narrative may be revealed to them.

“I take it as an opportunity to learn about a person; their essence, where they’ve been, the image they project. I want to create a record of someone’s whole being, not just their physical likeness, through a beautiful and well composed work of art.”

Lacey offers Classes, Workshops & Private Lessons. Please click here to visit the instruction section of her website for more information.

Lacey’s artwork is available for purchase. You can buy her original paintings and drawings, or you can also purchase fine art Giclée prints of her work. Lacey also accepts commissions for figurative and portrait paintings.

Please click here to visit the purchase or commission section of her website for more information.

Figurative Oil Painting Demonstration By Lacey Lewis

“Amy Pinning Her Hair”

	After priming an 11 x 14 inch hardboard panel with acrylic gesso, I painted a mixture of raw sienna, ultramarine blue, titanium white and some medium across the surface and then wiped it with a rag. Next, I roughed in the figure and the shadows, indicating general plane changes especially on the back. Some pink flesh color was added and the dress was roughed in as well.
	During this session I focused on the near arm and face area, defining the forms more clearly. I added less diluted strokes of the burnt sienna/ultramarine blue/white mixture to the background to contrast with the warmth of the flesh.
	Here the face is developed to a greater likeness of the subject and some areas are restated. Slight changes complete the background. The dress is painted in with thicker paint and the purple is used in the downward facing planes of the shadowed areas both to indicate reflected color and also to add to the unity of the work.
	The forms get their final adjustments and definition. Some transitions are smoothed while others get a harder edge. The likeness is completed and the hairpins are added. As the dress color was added into the shadows on the flesh during the last session, skin tones are now added into dress to create a greater sense of form and unity. Finally, the signature is added.
Amy Pinning Her Hair Oil on Panel, 14″ x 11″ Giclée Print of this Painting Available