Placid Sunday - Portrait of Placido Domingo

1. Placid SundayPortrait of Placido DomingoAcrylics on Canvas30” x 40”(76.2cm x 101.6cm)The Painting Process Patric Rozario

2. I have always been reluctant of painting portraits, for the sole reason that it takes very long hours of study and much longer time to complete. Oftentimes it takes days spent just staring at the canvas, unable to commence. Doing this kind of work requires so much understanding of the human anatomy and also a connection to the sitter or the reference photograph. Good portraiture happens when the artist not only captures the likeness of the person being painted but they also capture their character. One has to extensively study the character of the person, not just the facial features. Every line and countour of the face has a character or emotion attached to it. I studied hundreds of photographs of Placido Domingo, to the extend of figuring out the shape of his feet. I had to imagine myself sitting for coffee with Placido and disussing Raggae music with him. I went for a walk with him and later watched him roller skate. He was quite a humorous person and knew how to laugh with his eyes. He was concerned with what young people did with their lives. Placid Sunday

3. For my usual paintings, I often just paint the general colors all over the canvas first before getting into the details. Similarly in this portrait painting (acrylics on canvas), I used an underpainting layer of mars black as the required background. Then I painted the white, green and yellow light burst at the bottom. For this I even had to turn the canvas upside down, in order for me to have better control where it was easier for the light strokes to be brushed top to bottom. Placid Sunday

4. The canvas board turned upside down, to give me better control of my strokes. I used white, green and yellow paint to be brushed top to bottom. The original photograph had a faint light behind Placido. Instead I decided to have the light as a ‘burst’, to bring drama into the composition. The two additional patches of light were meant to come faintly behind Placido’s right shoulder and collar. Placid Sunday

5. It took me two days just to get the light burst to be painted to my satisfaction. Once satisfied, I started outlining the face with charcoal. The most important were the positioning and size of the eyes, nose and mouth. Then came the jaw, chin, head and the shoulders. Placid Sunday

6. The first layer of paint for the face were painted. It was turning out more like Dracula. The next two days, my 8 year old son kept saying that the portrait looked scarry. There was temptation to abandon the project. But the connection I build with Placido, before starting the painitng, gave me the courage and the confidence to move on. Once I was happy with the general composition and positioning of key elements, I started on the eyes, nose and mouth. In total I must have taken 3-4 hours over 5 days to complete them to my satisfaction. Placid Sunday

7. Still looking like Count Dracula. “Keep going”, I kept saying. Or was it the voice of Placido Domingo himself. The eyes were too strong. I had to put a white dot to balance the piercing eyes. I chose the ear, and put an ear ring. I could erase it later on. The face was too thick-set. But I knew I could thin him down. Layer after layers of paint went to the face and neck. Hair outline was worked on to give body to the portrait. Always kept strictly to the three colors - Sap Green, Cadmium Yellow and Mars Black. Placid Sunday

8. More green helped thin the face down and give balance to the white. It is from this point that the portrait had resemblance to Placido Domingo’s face. It is here that I decided to give interest to the painting - using techniques. Majority of the face will be done with ‘dotting’ technique. The shirt will be all strokes. The hair will be done with heavy load of paint - ‘Impasto’. All the dots and strokes will be slanted in one direction. The white light burst will remain as wash strokes. Placid Sunday

9. The original photogaph had Placido’s face in almost a horizontal line. He looked too humble, allthough stong. I decided to lift his face up a little bit, to give the confidence in his look. This is the best part of the painting. I had an urge to stop at this point and thus complete the portrait. I loved the dark patches on his face - gave him the battered face of a warrior. And the eyes - yes I liked the stern piercing look. After a few hours of thinking about it, I decided to move on with the painting. Placid Sunday

10. More layers of paint, to add volume and give value to the painting technique. But here I am slightly loosing the look I desired. More detailed painting with fine brush brought back the ‘look’. Worked on the shirt, his throat and neck. The collar was important to be enhanced. I am getting there.

11. Placid Sunday Acrylics on Canvas30” x 40”(76.2cm x 101.6cm) Completed January 28, 2008