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Ilaria, thanks for your input. I never thought about the size of brushstroke of the background as relating to the size of brushstroke used for the subject. I will take that into deeper consideration as I work.
Alexandra, those links were very informative. There was a comment that someone made about oiling in the background and it sparked another question that I had. For a while I was using burnt umber as a mix to make my darks until it was brought to my attention that the umber pigments do not retain the gloss as others do. Therefore I was noticing dull spots in my paintings. I have since stopped using umbers in my backgrounds, and actually don't use them at all anymore.
Even though many of the portrait painting backgrounds that I see read black especially on the computer I know they are darks mixed with other colors. I have mixed prussian blue with alizarian crimson, Ultramarine blue with black, ultramarine with alizarin crimson and viridian, and other such combinations and I am still unhappy with what I have.
Ilaria, I think I am leaning more towards how you feel about backgrounds, that something needs to be back there to keep the figure from looking like it is coming out of a void. I have been much more observant about what others do and of course find that there are no rules really as each painting is a unique expression of art. I just hope to acquire the skills to know what will work with what I am doing. I am definately learning that the background is just as important as the foreground.
I have an open studio at my place once a month. I am beginning to realize that I need to invest in some furniture and backdrops for these sessions so that I can incorporate a decent background into my paintings with the proper fall of light and form in relation to the model. What do you think?
Dianne
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