plate no. 5118

A girl standing before a tree with lilac, in white silk dress with white sash tied in a bow, long dark curling hair, forest and sky background

oilNeoclassicismportraitportraitfiguredresstreefoliagesky

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering delicate skin tones, as well as practicing soft blending techniques to create atmospheric effects in the background.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the oval frame and the basic proportions of the figure and background.
step 02
Block in the main areas of color: skin, hair, dress, foliage, and sky.
step 03
Begin refining the facial features, paying close attention to the eyes, nose, and mouth.
step 04
Develop the details of the hair, using small brushstrokes to create the curls.
step 05
Add highlights and shadows to the dress to create a sense of volume.
step 06
Paint the background, blending the colors softly to create a sense of depth.
step 07
Add the lilac and other details in the background.
step 08
Refine the overall painting, adjusting values and colors as needed.

color palette

primary · titanium white · ivory black · raw umber · alizarin crimson

secondary · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre · cadmium yellow light

Achieve the skin tones by mixing white, raw umber, alizarin crimson, and a touch of yellow ochre. Create the background greens by mixing ultramarine blue, yellow ochre, and white. Use white to lighten the values of all colors.

techniques

·portraiture
·blending
·glazing
·scumbling
·rendering

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details in the background, which can distract from the figure.
→Failing to capture the likeness of the subject.
→Using colors that are too saturated, which can make the painting look unnatural.
→Not paying enough attention to the values, which can make the painting look flat.