plate no. 7533
Girl picking flowers
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in color mixing to achieve subtle skin tones and capturing the impressionistic style through loose brushwork and broken color.
technical profile
palette complexity
4
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
3
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the figure and background.
- step 02
Establish the main areas of color: skin, dress, skirt, foliage, and flowers.
- step 03
Begin layering in the skin tones, using a variety of pinks, yellows, and whites.
- step 04
Paint the dress with broken strokes of white, pink, and blue to create the striped effect.
- step 05
Develop the skirt with browns and purples, suggesting folds and shadows.
- step 06
Add the foliage with greens, yellows, and blues, using short, broken strokes.
- step 07
Paint the flowers with a variety of bright colors, paying attention to their shapes and placement.
- step 08
Refine the details and adjust the values to create depth and dimension.
color palette
primary · titanium white · cadmium red · yellow ochre · ultramarine blue
secondary · burnt umber · alizarin crimson · cadmium yellow light
Mix skin tones using white, red, yellow ochre, and a touch of blue. Achieve the greens by mixing blues and yellows, and vary the shades by adding white or burnt umber.
techniques
- ·broken color
- ·wet-on-wet blending
- ·scumbling
- ·color layering
- ·impasto
common pitfalls
- →Over-blending colors, resulting in a muddy appearance.
- →Failing to capture the loose, impressionistic brushwork.
- →Getting the proportions of the figure wrong.
- →Not varying the colors enough in the foliage and flowers.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas 16x20
- ·#4 round brush
- ·#6 flat brush
- ·#8 filbert brush
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·cadmium red oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·linseed oil
- ·turpentine
- ·medium gloss
Use a medium-tooth canvas to allow for texture. Consider using a limited palette to simplify color mixing.
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