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

I love the background you started with.

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

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

That hair you've painted is spectacular.

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

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

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.

That portrait is beautiful!

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

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

what a great idea that of using the glass!

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

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

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

i loved the background at the beginning of the video

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. 🙄

Great! Very beautiful and perfect!

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 KZfaq channels hiding d important techniques they use. thanks for that.👍

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

Youre amazing, thanks Stan

I learn so much from you...thanks!

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

Love your attention to detail

You are the best!

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.

Thank you for posting this video, some very helpful information

This is the best advice ever 😲

Another great video! Thank you...

Valuable teaching! Thanks Stan!

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

SUPEEERRRR , BRAVOOOO

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

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! :)

Brilliant!!!

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

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

So toll lieben Dank 😊

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?

Wow!

good work 👍

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

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

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).

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?

Thank you.

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

Make more videos, you are awesome

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.

thank you sir

🐔🌻🌹

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.

Wonderful painting but camera work is frustrating.

Thy Stan

Camera moves way to much.