Water colour mixing in a Portrait
Our instructor Caroline Marsland started her demo on how to use colour mixing in painting a portrait with the following
Colour mixing -portrait
Paint colours used
Crimson
Yellow ochre
Ultramarine
Burnt Sienna
Verdin Green
Draw & then check for shadows & then wash drawing with water
Use largish brush
Let dry
When paper wet possible to get soft or gentle blend
If paint dries add fresh covering of water which can soften lines
Start with shadow to establish structure
The sharper edges of paint can be softened with water
To cool down shadows use blue
Slowly build up the tonal values
Detail such as eyes, mouth and nose come later
Eyes are usually the first thing the viewer looks at
Use deep red and blue for definition
When the details added this will make the shadowed areas ‘fall back’
Paint can be mixed on wet paper but caution that paper doesn’t lift or separate better to initially let dry and put on additional water.
Better to use mixture of colours to make black. More subtle.
Areas left white or low tonal values stand forward.#