Self Portrait: Using the CF Payne technique
So I’ve been contracted to teach Conceptual Illustration, which, I am very excited about. And, I’ve decided to open the class up with a self-portrait assignment. However, I think it would be hypocritical of me to ask my student to paint a self portrait when I haven’t done one myself since my under grad years. And so, in preparation for my class, I present to you a step-by-step guide to the C F Payne technique as used to bring my current self portrait to life…
The first step is to get photo reference. This process can be amazingly frustrating. After 50 some shots I got an image that I felt worked…
The second step is to create a drawing. For this, I used Strathmore Illustration Board. I always tape off my dimensions-I love clean edges. I then printed out a copy of the reference photo onto regular printing paper, coated the back with a light brown pastel and lightly traced out features that would help me maintain proportions and details. I then drew out the image using Sienna Brown Prismacolor pencils. I went over areas that I wanted to turn or darken with Sanford Ebony pencil (#14420). Once the drawing was finished, I sealed it using Suede-Matte, a lacquer spray from Lacquer-Mat (after scouring the Earth via internet and random phone calls I found this spray to replace the Retouchable II that CF use to use in the 1990s as Sureguard no longer makes Retouchable II).
After the drawing is sealed and the lacquer spray has dried, the next few steps go very fast. First, using acrylics lightened by gesso for your white, wash a high-key flesh tone over your pencils (the one step I did not scan). You can then wash in some local colors. In my case, I washed some cad reds into the nose and ears and cooled off all the shadow areas. I also laid down a wash for the background. After the acrylics dry use watercolors to mix a mid-tone wash that covers the whole portrait…
After the water color wash has set up go back into it with a damp, clean brush and lift out your high key areas.
Now bust out the oils. For Caucasian flesh tones I follow Payne’s use of Dioxazine Purple but I like to cut it with Thalo Yell Green. Thin that down with some Gamsol Mineral Spirits (versus Turpenoids). You are going to cover the whole painting in this wash (which will unify all the local colors)…
For the wash, I diluted the oils with a lot of Gamsol. I mix intuitively, but if I had to guess it was like 10:1 or 12:1 Gamsol:Oils. Give the mineral spirits about 20-30 minutes to evaporate. Once the wash has set up, you can go back into the piece with a kneaded eraser and pull the oils off your mid tones and high lights…
Once you have the oils cleaned up and the image in a state you are happy with hit is with another coat of the Suede-Matte. What’s important to know about the Suede-Matte is that it is a retouch spray, which means that it has been designed the be drawn and painted on. That being said, from this point on I apply acrylics and some color pencils. Its all artist intuition.
Feb 04, 2015 @ 22:13:31
Thanks for scouring the earth for the Sureguard Retouchable 2. Were you able to purchase the Lacquer Mat Suede Matte from a local store? a photographic supply store? If so, could you give me the name?
Thanks!
Sep 18, 2017 @ 09:38:35
Hey Jason, my name is Dan Nelson, I am an artist, longtime illustrator, and general art adventurer. I don’t know if this blog is still alive, if you’re still paying any attention to it, but want to leave a comment on your CF Payne post. I have also done a couple CF Payne invitations. The first one back in 2012, and another one just a couple of weeks ago. You can find that at Facebook/DantheArtMan. I am just curious as to whether you have done any more CF Payne illustrations, and if you have learned anything else in the process. I knew Chris at the Dallas Society of illustrators in the mid-80s. And have followed him Loosely ever since. He doesn’t seem very keen on passing on his information to subsequent Generations, which is part of the reason I wanted to do a post about his technique.
Feel free to look me up, DanNelsonart.com, and drop me a line.