Final Studies of the Painting 'The Last Day of Pompeii'
Hi everyone, sharing with you today the final oil painting master studies based on the painting 'The Last Day of Pompeii'. I focused on the eyes of the people in the piece as they are the most emotive part of the painting that express the most. Each one expresses fear/sadness in a different way through their eyes.
Original painting by Karl Bryullov
Below are some photos taken in the process of creating these pieces.
A view of my painting palette
Both oil studies took several hours to complete and were done on approximately A3 sized paper
I like his particular style for the strong highlights he captures in the eyes against the dark blacks in the pupils and eyebrows. It really makes the portraits stand out in his composition. Completing these small studies made me appreciate how long it would have taken him to complete the whole painting and how much patience it would have taken to complete something of that scale.
Very good works, expressive eyes and highlights that make the eyes to look realistic and lively. I noticed that you used paper for Oil painting. Do you feel big difference while painting on paper or canvas?
Thanks, I used lining paper as it is cheaper for small studies rather than canvas. I find canvas can be annoying to fill the pin holes with paint and it easily soaks up the paint but i've read that's why you should apply an oil gesso primer or sand the canvas before painting so will look into that in future. Painting on panels is probably the most optimal for oils. I didn't think too much about the materials initially just wanted to practice studies. Overall, there is not too much difference but found paper smoother to paint on which made it easier.