Painterly Effects

The signature style of Jane French's portraiture is achieved through a mix of both sharp and loose brushwork

- Jane French

Veronica, oil on canvas, 8 x 8" (20 x 20 cm)

The bright pink hair in the reference image of Veronica is the focal point of this painting. I enjoyed using other more saturated colors as well, such as reds, oranges, and blues.

In September of 2020, I painted the Hundred personal project which involves creating 100 separate small oil portraits over a period of approximately six months. A large part of this particular project has been the opportunity to analyze my painting process, either through recording time-lapse videos or by taking a series of still images. This is of benefit both to me as an ongoing learning exercise but also to the viewer as a way of visually describing my specific approach to painting a portrait in oils.

My style relies on a combination of precise, clear marks, alongside looser or more sketchy brushwork. The clarity is established in the drawing stage and reinforced throughout. The looseness helps me to always maintain a painterly quality. It is also important for me to combine "natural" or more believable skin tones with more saturated or unexpected colors. It is the values of a reference, however, that I try to adhere to the most. It is the values that can drastically or sometimes subtly affect whether the likeness of the sitter is correct or not.

Most of my commission portraits are based on photographs, although I love working from life too. In most cases, I will try to sketch or make a study in oils initially and then take my own photographs as reference.