REPEATING FIGURES

To date, this is my personal favorite approach to working with multiple figures. Many of my “multiple figures paintings” repeat or mirror each other. 

”Repeating Figures” does not always mean repeating the exact same gesture or form. My interpretation of this concept is much looser.  An example can be seen in the photo here. The figures are both walking, the gesture is different, but there is a sense of repetition.

Let’s look at this slide show below for examples and explanations.

Video: REPEATING FIGURES SLIDESHOW

Please Note: Each video in this course has its own unique password. 

▸ VIDEO PASSWORD: Repeat
▸ VIDEO LENGTH: 11:02 minutes

Project: REPEATING FIGURES

In this demo I use oil and cold wax along with a bunch of oil bars mostly by R&F. I use a technique called Solvent Reduction which is somewhat specific to cold wax. I hope you enjoy seeing the process and the painting develop. If you are an acrylic painter you could do something somewhat similar by using multiple layers of relatively transparent paint possibly applied with a squeegee and then correcting with drawing tools. Whatever medium, the intentions is to stay loose, expressive and experimental.

Please Note: Each video in this course has its own unique password. 

▸ VIDEO PASSWORD: Repeat
▸ VIDEO LENGTH: 33:50 minutes

R&F Oil Bar Colors Used: Kings Blue, Celadon Green, Mayrs Yellow Deep, Unbleached Titanium, Neutral White, Turquoise.
Gamblin Paint Colors: Radiant Blue, Radiant Turquoise, Titanium Buff, Titanium White, Raw Sienna, Gold.

YOUR TURN: Create a painting with repetitive figures.

Things to remember:

1. The figures do not need to be exactly the same.

2. Try photographing your model from different angles and using several angles in one painting.

3. Your negative space is important. Be aware of that as you design your composition.

4. Paint yourself or a family member in slightly different positions.

5. Have fun! Take Risks! Be a Fool!

Christopher Brown created a series of repeated figures a number of years ago. In many of these paintings he filled the large canvas with walking and/or repeated figures. Again, many of these were not the exact same figure, but I think you can understand the concept. He works quite differently now and his paintings are always interesting and developing. The video below is excellent and I recommend checking out his website to see his current work.

— Click on any image to see full image —

VIDEO: A look inside Chris Brown’s studio—older, but still excellent!