Adrienne Stein shares the stages of her contemporary realism portrait painting, “Wild Orchid,” which consisted of a different approach from what she usually takes: “I blocked in a detailed grisaille first to establish the value structure and composition and then ‘glazed’ the colors on top.
“People often ask if I do a detailed drawing before I paint, and the answer is NEVER. I find the drawing as I paint, correcting it as I go. My eye always ends up making the proper corrections.”
Adrienne added that she did not use Photoshop for any part of this: “I usually go by feel and block it in monochromatically until the value structure and composition looks good and then glaze color on top of that.”
If painting such a realistic portrait looks difficult, rest assured that she agrees: “It’s always a challenge, no matter how long you’ve been doing it!”
Wild Orchid: A Contemporary Realism Portrait in Stages
By Adrienne Stein
adriennestein.com
About Contemporary Realist Adrienne Stein:
Adrienne Stein is an award winning artist living and working in Pennsylvania. She holds an MFA from Boston University and a BFA Magna Cum Laude, from Laguna College of Art & Design. Adrienne studied under many gifted and influential instructors throughout the United States, France, and Italy. Her work reanimates historical painting genres forming a bridge to the present with fresh insight and imagery. The worlds she paints are inhabited by figures, folklore, archetypes, and natural elements that are fueled by a sense of personal as well as universal myth. Close friends and family members are reinterpreted in lush and magical environments that form the nexus between reality and fantasy, expressed through an unconscious world of symbolic imagery. She has received numerous awards from organizations such as The Portrait Society of America, The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, and The Art Renewal Center. Her work is collected in the U.S. and abroad. She has been on the faculty for the Annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo and RealismLive.
Related Article: Adrienne Stein on Painting Composition
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