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Painting SITEPLAN
Techniques
Portrait
Paintingin
Oils
PORTRAIT PAINTING
IN OILS
DARK GROUNDS
Portraitshavebeenpaintedformanyreasons,to:
LIGHT GROUNDS
6.Representtheessentialdignityornobilityofthehuman
subject.
7.Recreateinacontemporarysettingthenormsofclassical
portraiture.
8.Explorethepersonality,psychologyorinwardqualities
ofthesitter.
9.Developorextendthenecessarypaintingskills.
Theaimsarefarfromexclusive,andportraitpaintings
todaywillbebalancingmanyoftheseaimsagainstthefee
andexpectationsoftheclient.
PaintingaPortrait:Some
GeneralAdvice
Mostportraitartistsbeginwithdrawingsof
thesitter.Thesedonotsupersede
photographs,butaregenerallypreferredas
theveryactofdrawingrequirestheartistto
studyandunderstandwhatheisseeing.Nonetheless,there
canbeproblems.Somedrawingswillcomeoffstraight
away,butmanyonlyafteragreatdealofeffort,andon
occasionsnothingseemstogivealikeness.Forthatreason,
somepainters,particularlythemoreexperienced,begin
immediatelyontheoilportrait.Bymovingfromgeneral
appearancetotellingdetailstheyavoidproducinga
photographicallycorrectbutfacile/bland/unilluminating
facsimileofthesubject.Somegeneralhints:
1.Usetheappropriatemediuminpreliminarywork:pencils
forasmalland/ordetailedsketch,chalksorcontforthe
broadersketch.
2.Ensurethelightinghelpstogivestrength,solidityand
charactertotheface.Itisverydifficulttocaptureafullface
likenessifthelightingandfeaturesaresuchthatthe
featuresarenottightlyorganizedbystructure.Eyesand
mouththat'float'inasoftwoman'sfacewhereyoucannot
putmuscles,wrinklesandshadowsareparticularly
difficult.Avoidfullfaceifyoucan.
3.Nevermakethefacefullsize.Twothirdsisthenormal
limitandhalfsizeissafer.Toolargeapaperorcanvassize
leaveswidespaceswhicharedifficulttofill,andinwhichit
isdifficulttoplacefeaturesaccurately.
4.Closenesstomodelisimportant.Manyexpressivedetails
ofeyefoldsandmoutharelostafewfeetfurtherout.
5.It'susuallybesttoblockinthebroadtonalorstructural
massesandthenfollowindetailwiththeeyesandnose.
Thetrianglebetweeneyesandtipofnoseisauseful
reference.
Portraits:Paintingona
DarkGround
Solomon{5}suggeststhesestepsfor
portraitpainting:
1.Makeanaccuratesketchincharcoal.
Ensurethisiscorrect.
2.Modeltonesonlyinturpsthinnedrawumberandwhite.
3.Repeatstage2severaltimesuntilmodelingiscorrect.
Eachattemptshouldcompletelybutthinlycoverthe
previous.Payattentiontohardandsoftedges,skinover
boneandpulpinesselsewhere.Toneshouldbeappreciably
lighterthanintendedresultdarkgroundstendtoabsorb
midtonesanddarkenwithage.)
4.Drythoroughly.
5.PaintshadowsinamixtureofIndianredandblack,
highlightswithstiffwhite,andintermediatetoneswitha
mixtureofthesecolorsmodifiedwithacobaltoravery
littlechromiumoxidegreen.
6.Drythoroughly.
7.Glazeand/orscumblethisgrisaillewithredandyellow
pigments,eitherinoil,oroilandglazesmixed.
Portraits:Paintingona
TonedGround
Thefollowingapproachismoregeneral,andemphasizes
theneedtoa.workouteverythinginadvanceandb.
undertakeoilsketchestosolvesproblemsastheyarise.
1.Preparegroundproperly:absorbentifyouareusing
muchmediumwithpaint,lessabsorbentifyou'reusing
glazingapproach.Grays,greens,pinks,brownsandbuffs
colorsarebest,allpale.
2.Decidecompositionbeforehand,eitherbyroughingout
incharcoalorbytonaldrawings.
3.Workoutpalettepriortopaintinganything,anddecide
inthisorder:skintones,thenhair,thenclothesandfinally
background.Adjusttone/hue/purityofcolorinclothesas
necessary.Youmayneedtomakemanyoilsketchesto
harmonizeeverything.
4.Uselateralfrontallighting.Shadowpatternshouldaid
composition.
5.Ensuremovementofbodydoesnotfollowthatofhead.
6.Makebackgroundsomeneutralcolor,notnecessarily
darkerthanshadowsofhead.
PortraitsinOil:Specific
Hints
Thereisno"correct"approach,butmany
authoritiessuggestsomethinglikethis:
1.Paintshadowstodefinebroadstructure,
startingwithnose.
2.Lowervalueinlowerhalfoflightedareatohelp
highlightsabove.
3.Makemuzzleareathesamecolorasrestoffleshbut
cooler.
4.Addtouchofcolorwhereshadowmeetslight.
5.TryVenetianredasalternativetorawsiennawhichloses
intensitywithwhite.Painthandsetc.withthesetwocolors
andwhite.
6.Usecadmiumcolorsforfaircomplexions,andearth
colorsforswarthy.
7.Shadowsshouldbesimilartobackgroundcolors.
8.Addbackgroundcolorstofleshtonestomakearea
recede.
9.Tonalrangeofhair(lighttodark)isoftenthatofeye
(highlighttopupil).
10.Highlightspickupstructuresandhavetoendonthem.
11.Startwithshadowareas.Cadmiumswithblack/cobalt
blue/ultramarineandumbermakegoodshadows.Deepen
shadowsiffacelacksstructure.
12.Breakthefaceintoplanes,assigntonesofonehueto
theseplanesandpaintthemsimply.
13.Warmskinareasalwayshavealittlecoolcolor,andvice
versa.Butkeepthelightareasandtheshadowsdistinct.
14.Thickfleshareasarewarmandboneareasarecool.
15.Bringcheeksandchinforwardwithwarmcolors
16.Createwarmbackgroundsbytakingshadowcolorand
bothlightenitsvalueandweakenitsintensity/purity.
17.Createcoolbackgroundbychoosingthecooledgray
colorthatwillrepresenttheturningplanesofyourobject.
Coolwithraworburntumberorwithalittlecobaltblue.
18.Don'tletbackgroundsoverpowersubject:makethem
moreneutraltomakesubjectcomeforward.
Portraits:Palette
Manymixturesarerecommended,butit's
essentialnottomixmorethanthree
pigmentspluswhiteifbrilliancyistobe
retained.Alittleblendingisacceptablebut
muchbetteristoapplypatchesofpaintwithflatorfilbert
brushesandleavealone.Rememberthatshadowareasare
anextensionofthelitside,sousethesameingredientsbut
varyproportionsslightly.
Abbreviationsinthemixturesthatfolloware:
TitaniumWhite=WCad.LightYellow=yCad.Yellow=Y
Cad.LightRed=rCad.DeepRed=RCobaltBlue=b
Ultramarine=BViridian=VRawSienna=sBurntSienna
=SRawUmber=uBurntUmber=ULightRed=LYellow
Ochre=OPhaloBlue=PPermanentRose=MNaples
Yellow=NVenetianRed=E
Thesearesomerecommendationsinbooksdevotedtothe
artofportraiture.
BasicOilPainting
Generalcomplexions:W+s+L+b
Softergeneralcomplexions:W+s+V+b
Children'scomplexions:W+N+L+V
Mediumdark(yellow)complexions:W+O+S+B
Mediumtodarkcomplexions:W+s+M+b
Redhair:W+O+S+M+b
Darkbrownhair:W+O+U+B
Blackhair:B+M+U
Grayhair:W+u+b
Parramon
ThesearetakenfromParramon'scolor
schemes.
'WarmFleshTints'
OrdinarylitareasW+y+r+M+b
Lowerlip&rosyareasW+y+r
HighlightsW+r+y
StubbleW+P+Y+M
BluetingedshadowsW+PY+M
Basicshadowr+O+Y+P+W
Darkershadowr+O+Y+PM+W
UpperlipM+V
EyebrowsM+U+PV
Co'ldFleshTints'
OrdinarylitareasW+yO+M+V
Lowerlip&rosyareasW+yO+M+V
LightluminousfleshW+yO+V
StubbleW+yO+M+V
BluetingedshadowsW+b+O+M+S
BasicshadowY+O+V+M+W
DarkershadowV+W+M
UpperlipY+O+V+W
EyebrowsM+V+P/S
AngelaGair
Someofthesemayapplybetterto
watercolors.Experiment.
Palecomplexions:W+O+M
PinkercomplexionsW+O+M+b
PaleorangepinkcomplexionsW+O+M
GoldencomplexionsW+S+OV
Mediterraneancomplexions:W+O+S+b
Browncomplexions:W+S+O+M
Chinese/yellowcomplexions:W+O+V+S
Deeperbrowncomplexions:W+U+S+P
RichbrowncomplexionsW+S+b
ColdblackcomplexionsW+U+P
WarmblackcomplexionsW+U+P+M
FurtherReading
1.'StepbyStepArtSchools:Portraits'byJackBuchan&
JonathanBaker.Hamlyn.2001.Notfortheprofessional
oradvancedamateurpainter,butagoodintroduction
portraitpaintingtechniques.
2.'HowtoPaintPortraits'byJosParramon.Watson
Guptill.1988.Simpleandpractical.
3.'PaintingBeautifulSkinToneswithColorandLightin
Oil,PastelandWatercolor'byChrisSaper.Northern
LightBooks.2001.
4.'CompletePortraitPaintingCourse'byAngelaGair.
RandomHouse.1990
5.'ThePracticeofOilPaintingandDrawing'.S.J.
Solomon.Seeley.1910.
6.'ANewShortDemo'.PortraitPaintingTips.A
professionalpainter'sblog.
7.HowtoPaintaPortraitWithOilbyMarvinMattelson.
ArtistNetwork.Stepwiseapproachfromdrawing.
8.'AStrokeofGenius'.PortraitArtist.Agoodselection
ofportraitartists'sworksince1996.
Videos
Learnhowtopaintaportrait,portraitpaintingdemoby
BenLustenhouwer
Learn how to paint a portrait, portrait painting demo by ...
PaintingthePortrait
Clipsfrom"PaintingPortraitsbyMarkCarder"
clips from "Painting Portraits by Mark Carder"
Speedpainting,portraitofCarolbyLouisSmith
PortraitPaintingofBreyonAustin
Portrait Painting of Breyon Austin
PortraitPaintinginOil,Paintaportraitwithoutdrawing.
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PaintingPortraitAllaPrimaSeanCheetham
Painting Portrait - Alla Prima - Sean Cheetham
PaintingOilPortraitswithaLimitedPalettewithJoy
Thomas
PaintingaPortrait
Painting a Portrait
SpeedPaintingoilportraitbyPeterCampbell
Learnhowtomakefleshcolorsinstruction.
Time-lapse how to make esh colours.
OilPaintingTechniques:HowtoMixOilPaintColors
Illustrations
14a.'SelfPortrait'byRembrandtvanRijn.1640.The
NationalGallery.London.Thesimplestofcolorschemes,
butsuperbcontroloftonesandgreatvarietyintexture,line
andshapes.
14b.'TheArtistandhisWifeinaHoneysuckleBower'by
PeterPaulRubens.160910.AltePinakothek.Munich.
Rubens'weddingportrait:acarefullyfinishedpiecewith
formssmoothlymodelledinthinpaintappliedoverdark
underpainting.Colorssubdued,indeedrathermuddy.
14c.'InsaneWoman'byThodoreGricault.18223.Muse
desBeauxArts.Lyon.Anotherportraitoflimitedcolor
range,butpowerfullydescriptivebrushwork.
14d.'MonsieurBertinL'Aine'byJeanAugusteDominique
Ingres.1832.MuseduLouvre.Paris.Analogousredand
redorangethroughout,buttonecontrol,sinewystrengthof
linesandrhythmicrepetitionsmakethisapowerfulwork.
14e.'TheDayDream'byDanteGabrielRossetti.1880.
VictoriaandAlbertMuseum.London.Adecorativepiece
builtonredgreencomplementaries.
14f.'HenryJames'byJohnSingerSargent.1913.National
PortraitGallery.London.Restrictedpaletteandbravura
brushwork.
14g.'SomersetMaugham'byGrahamSutherland.1949.
TheTateGallery.London.Asplitanalogouscomposition
(bluegrayintrousers)withfacialfeaturesrepeatedin
jacketandscarf
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