Lesson 18 / Portrait Backgrounds

[@chelseaclerke948]

I really appreciate the way you take time to explain what you are doing, only giving the information needed, such a beautiful portrait!

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Thank you, glad the lesson is helpful!

[@Debjohnny]

The glass canvas for background trials is the best tip I have ever heard on KZbin tutorials for painting!

[@hawkeye9382]

I love the background you started with.

[@maggiefreeman6513]

Thank you. Great tips about backgrounds. Love the idea of using glass or acetate to try things out. Beautiful painting.

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Thank you, glad the lesson is helpful.

[@parrishriddle7945]

Painting on glass and using an L frame are two great tricks of the trade. they were new to me!

[@franciscobraylen8771]

You prolly dont care at all but does any of you know a tool to get back into an instagram account?? I was stupid forgot the login password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me.

[@adrielmaximiliano3952]

@Francisco Braylen instablaster ;)

[@franciscobraylen8771]

@Adriel Maximiliano I really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and im in the hacking process now. Seems to take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.

[@franciscobraylen8771]

@Adriel Maximiliano it worked and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thank you so much, you saved my account :D

[@adrielmaximiliano3952]

@Francisco Braylen Glad I could help :D

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Thank you everyone for your comments. Yes, that is titanium white, a watercolor, that I use in her hair...very thickly.

[@gabriellelouise1]

Hi Stan, I've been loving your videos. They have helped me notably. What a great resource! Last night I tried a portrait from a black and white (Salgado) photo and was surprised with my success.Thank you for posting these! Gabrielle

[@eikoslamiad]

That hair you've painted is spectacular.

[@kikib48grid]

Thanks for the glass idea. Enjoyed watching how you painted in the background around the head and thinned it out as you went. I want to get away from painting "all the way to the edges" but its hard to know when to stop and HOW to stop. I think you've helped me with that. 🙄

[@kangkanmedhi9209]

thank you for the lesson. yet lots to be learned from you. I like and really appreciate the way the unveil the techniques, where I can see lots of other KZbin channels hiding d important techniques they use. thanks for that.👍

[@Stanleylestermiller]

glad the lesson is helpful.

[@brianwalker3236]

Hello Wil have recently recenctly comea ross your site and have been mosted inprezsed byyoutpsentaios particularly the accent on accurate sketching and patience, also you very clear explanations of colour and value very instructive and helpful. Many thanks Briab

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Happy to hear the lessons are helpful, Stan

[@moiseschavez2415]

simply awsome and thanks for the lessons, maybe someday i can make my paintings look so cool

[@ladylake69]

I love the technique with the glass and square cornered matting!! Thank you

[@franceslazu1784]

Wow! It is amazing! You are a great artist!!

[@KatieSanvick]

i loved the background at the beginning of the video

[@karenspooner1492]

Katie Sanvick me too what a shame it went dark ..

[@EuphemiaGrubb]

Agreed. I think something was lost...

[@sanjaysahai8181]

Me too

[@deiiferum5365]

The girl looks great. I was a bit bummed by the dark background, and it seemed a little contrary to all the left/right brain composition discussed in the earlier videos. I know backgrounds can be extra for commissioned illustration/portraits so I'm not judging the decision. The camera probably plays a part as well. And each artist is obviously allowed to make their own choices. I've enjoyed the video series immensely so far. Thanks, Stan.

[@KittyKarenpoo]

Totally appreciate this. I am even more interested in your approaches to background that are not dark, given that level of darkness is a more obvious choice, but even with that in the back of my mind, I think there was a lot of good stuff in this video. Not to mention an excellent painting

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Andrew Wyeth is the artist who has most influenced me...Rembrandt as well, both had very dark backgrounds at times to get more dramatic moods...depends on what one is trying to say...

[@lonemapper]

That portrait is beautiful!

[@UConceptPublishing]

what a great idea that of using the glass!

[@zeinebsabri3148]

i learn so much from you.. are really awesome !

[@paromitadesarkar1677]

Dear Mr. Miller,I am a beginner in watercolour painting. This video was helpful. I was looking for a detailed tutorial on how to keep the lighter parts bright amidst a very dark background and then blend it with the rest of the background. In short, your video answered all my doubts. Please create more videos.🙏❤️thank you

[@Stanleylestermiller]

So glad my videos are helpful. Please, before you seek more videos, you need to practice everything I'm teaching in all of my videos. More videos will not help unless you spend at least two to four hundred hours practicing what I'm teaching in the videos I've posted. When you've practiced that much, that many hours trying to do what I'm teaching, let me know and I'll post more videos.

[@paromitadesarkar1677]

@@Stanleylestermiller I did not mean to offend you Mr. Miller. By "create more videos" I meant to convey how much I look forward to seeing your work. I am still not good at it but yes i have been practising since then. Please dont be angry.🙏❤️

[@Stanleylestermiller]

@@paromitadesarkar1677 No offense taken, so glad you enjoy my lessons and are learning new things.

[@JustMe-uc1lt]

Very useful tips, thank you. And I love the music!

[@arisonart10]

Great! Very beautiful and perfect!

[@judyh3017]

Beautiful result! The skin tones are so well done. And the hair. Very nice. In what situations do you staple down the paper and when do you use masking tape? Do you stretch the paper?

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Many many ways to flatten, or not flatten wc paper. 300 pound paper...no need to tape, staple or stretch...the paper stays flat because it is thick. I do this sometimes. Sometimes I just using masking tape. Sometimes I staple the paper down, sometimes I do nothing, just paint on the paper as it is. Try typing "ways to stretch watercolor paper" into youtube search...you see many ways.

[@BabciCathy]

I learn so much from you...thanks!

[@beckyhofer4328]

Valuable teaching! Thanks Stan!

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Thanks Becky. Hofer...a Mennonite? I was brought up Mennonite in S. Dakota...

[@shogrran]

Amazing work. I really like concepts he talks about in the video. I will definitely think about those as I learn. But I guess I was a bit weirded out? Since the title was about painting and designing portrait backgrounds... but then it turned out it's going to be almost black. Then he talks about the concept of framing it with the L mats but then it ended just being in the center?

[@Stanleylestermiller]

A well designed background can be painted all black, if one feels that choice is a good design choice. The girls face is not centered, the back of her head is not centered, the important parts of this portrait are not centered...this has to be thought out, designed, part of designing a background.

[@dmrd222]

Thanks for an informative lesson. I'm trying to find a background for a guitarist portrait, who has dark hair and dark clothing.

[@anaserra3078]

Hy Stan. I love your lessons! I'm just an amateur, but i paint w/ oils and acrylics. Since i saw your lessons, i've done so much w/ watercolour!!! I'm not afraid of it anymore! :P well i love this portrait and all the tips. I just wanted to ask you if that white paint (that you light her hair w/) is also watercolour? Thank you so much for your lessons and inspiration! :)

[@AkakaDomenjer]

Fantastic, thank you very much. Is there also video about dog portraits with black background?

[@Stanleylestermiller]

No videos about dog portraits with black backgrounds...sorry.

[@derfalschejunge]

Damn, the trick with the glass is so simple. Why did I even need to see this instead of coming up with that idea myself? Anyway, thank you so much for showing it to me! A kind of frustration I may not have to feel again.

[@rohanamiller2293]

I agree, simple and brilliant!! Snap! Of course, right!?

[@kazlikesthesimplelife2896]

Thank you for posting this video, some very helpful information

[@jonjonsson6323]

The fun with painting is that we do differently, i would have stopped where you start as its a much lighter painting

[@TheSunshinefee]

Beautiful ! Can you do a video on structure in clothing. How do you manage to make something look like jeans, or leather, or silk?

[@geoffreyirwin8545]

Love your attention to detail

[@bebethedog120]

You are the best!

[@ivanyargueta8644]

This is the best advice ever 😲

[@Stanleylestermiller]

Thank you.

[@catafinity]

Youre amazing, thanks Stan

[@miriambaranov]

First of all thank you for sharing all this knowledge, these lessons are really helpful. I was wondering what are you using for the black background, is it ink? (sorry if you already mentioned it somewhere and I just missed it).

[@Stanleylestermiller]

For my dark colors, I make my own black. I use thalo blue, viridian green, deep purple, paynes gray, burnt umber, etc. I change what colors I use as I go along.

[@miriambaranov]

@@Stanleylestermiller very cool! Thanks for being so responsive :))))) looks very opeque.

[@Stanleylestermiller]

@@miriambaranov When you paint dark..it's always opaque.

[@beckyhofer4328]

You are the best teacher I've found on KZbin. Brilliantly explained! Question: could I use white gouache instead of white paint for the hair, as you did?

[@Stanleylestermiller]

White gouache would work fine.

[@beckyhofer4328]

thank you!

[@yaseminarkun]

Another great video! Thank you...

[@SAwan-ix1bg]

good work 👍

[@gaetancharlebois9327]

I love these lessons but the camera-work is vertigo-inducing. I literally have to stop occasionally or jump sections because of the bouncing camera. But I learn, nevertheless.

[@Stanleylestermiller]

+Gaëtan Charlebois My apologies for the bad camera work Gaetan. I'll try to steady the camera in the future.

[@isabelwittich9148]

So toll lieben Dank 😊

[@55sarajevo]

SUPEEERRRR , BRAVOOOO

[@glennevangelista]

Brilliant!!!

[@rtistiklybent128]

Thank you.

[@diane3868]

Wow!

[@jitendraoksingh2489]

Make more videos, you are awesome

[@jeanneepower8403]

Wonderful painting but camera work is frustrating.

[@rosefredericks3705]

I can see by the other comments that I'm not the only one who was screaming "NO, NO!!" when he put in that ugly dark background. IMHO it ruined the painting, which was so beautiful and delicate at the beginning.

[@apexnoobgeneral6877]

thank you sir

[@احمدجميل-ت5ظ]

🐔🌻🌹

[@crystalrich4240]

Camera moves way to much.