Very thorough. Looking fwd to seeing the next steps.

Painstaking, research, painstaking work, but the result is worth it!

7. Day, March 18, 2018

Well - let's face "Artjom's" face!

We see on the painting that our friend has a very unhealthy purple-reddish color of the skin - probably (or even sure!) also a consequence of its slope to the "little water" ...!

Again, the effect on many burst blood vessels under the skin!



Vut: What is real and what is caricature?

We know about the model of this Cossack, Aleksandr Rubez, director of the Sankt Peterburg Conservatory.




But what color was his skin?

We do not know that, because there is no color image of Rubez. The color photography was not invented then! Exactly the same with all other main actors on Repin's painting!

We know who the models were, but they only know about black and white Pictures of them.

Fortunately, with ONE exception!

As the model for the figure of the "Ataman Ivan Sirko" Repin took the at that time most popular General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov (1830 - 1905) ...:



There is a color template of him, from Repin's own hand!

Repin made friends with Dragomirov as he sat for a portrait model.

And now we finally get some firmer ground under our feet ...:




Repin exaggerated - caricatured! - certain facial features and idiosyncrasies of his idols, as he made of them for his famous picture Cossacks - as an example here only the nose of Dragomirow called, which can be seen in "Ivan Sirko" clearly caricatured!

So - and now we know how the painter worked!

In order to turn his caricatures back into living people, we have to go the same way as he does - only in the opposite direction!

The task for me as a researcher so:

"Find a real person who has similar facial features, like the" red Cossack ", just not caricatured!"

So I went in search - and lo and behold: These reddish discolorations of older men who have drunk a lot of alcohol in their lives, are not so rare!

I found four good role models of men about the same age as "Artjom" - one of them is even a real Cossack ...:












It is noticeable:

Most pronounced is this skin anomaly always on the nose, in addition, the upper cheeks areas under the zygomatic bones are usually more affected than other facial areas!

So - now have a good basis for painting!

With these colors ...



... so I have dealt with the face of the bust.

The aim was to show the skin anomalies very clearly, but on the other hand not to make it TOO clear, because I do not want a caricature!

But I think I've cought the middle ground as well ...:








The nose, where the whole thing more clearly - to the violet - will be, I still left out ...

So much for today!


Cheers

Something else...:

The research was much more difficult with the clothes, because every time I had to find the originals!

I did that last summer/autumn - and jotted down the total time just for fun:

For a total of 32.5 hours I dug up Polish, Ukrainian and Russian sites.

But now I have the original templates for coat, caftan, shirt and sash (which also Repin used with great likelihood!) in my fundus.

You'll see 'em all by time...


Cheers

8. Day, March 19, 2018

Just ready for today - sorry for the glaze...:







What shall I say?
I really like the nose of our Booze throttle!

In addition, I have implemented the advice of a friend, and painted a little more light on the upper cheeks and the upper part of the nasolabial folds.


Cheers

Thx Nap!!!

I took back the blue-red on the nostrils a bit again.

Now the tine looks exactly as I wanted it!

Like the nose of the composer Modest Mussorgsky ...:




Cheers

If the Cossacks invade with many and many bottles of Vodka there is only ONE solution: Call the Irish!



----------------------------------------------

9. Day, March 20, 2018

Interrupted painting - started sculpting on him again to make him more laugh...:




Cheers

10. Day, March 21, 2018

I have made some new things on the face or revised - but very moderately!

As a template, I deliberately did not take the Repin painting - and not even my little oil copy, but this photo here ...:




The eyes are a little bit more closed now.

The corners of the mouth are optically slightly upwards.

The bags are slightly more pronounced.

The mouth is opened a little further.

(I had already revised the forehead and the upper eyelids).

Well- now let's cure the "Milliput" ...:








Cheers

11. Day, March 22, 2018

So - the hour of truth is here!

My revised Cossack face should now be primed!

First of all, the eyes that have survived everything undamaged, decently protected from the spray can - they are stuffed with small foam bales ...:




Of course, I could have used "Maskol," but I'm a little scared that I can not get the rubber out of my eyes completely.

Then it's off to the basement and the spray can with "Army Painter Grey" is used.

I have made only very short sprays, so as not to blow the foam out of the eyes by the pressure.

And here is the result ...:












My opinion:

Sure, it's just an amateur sculpt, or just the revision of a pure professional work - but in the face is now clearly off more than before!

The eyes appear more closed, the boy has a lot more laugh lines around the eyes, the corners of the mouth appear more pulled up and the muscle play on the cheeks fits!

And the beautiful eyes have really survived unscathed!

And all while preserving the similarity that has not changed.

I'm pretty satisfied.

But I'm also very curious to your opinions!!!

So: fire free ...!


Cheers

12. Day, March, 26, 2018

Painting the second...:

The colors I use are just the same ones...:



... but I am going to do it a little differently, much more carefully (and therefore more slowly!):
The beautiful sculpt of Pavol is always worth it - and what I have added, (in my irrelevant opinion), as well!

I painted the eye parts today.

Our friend now keeps his eyes slightly pinched, he has got realistic-looking lower eyelids and bags under his eyes - and in the outer corners of his eyes I have a hair-thin net of many laugh lines ...:

















So much for today.

Cheers

13. Day, March 27, 2018

I just finished the first cheek!

The colors used are - as I said - the same as the first time. But I spent a lot of time to structure the cheek color clearer!

The first version of the painting looked a bit "washed-out" and unstructured, a bit like "violet over everything" - the brown tones came to me a bit too short.

And around the eye area was too little highlight...:




That's different now - and I like it much more...:






Cheers