Mary with Child

approach — 8 steps

color palette

primary · raw umber · burnt sienna · ivory black · titanium white

secondary · yellow ochre · cadmium red light · ultramarine blue

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, red, and yellow ochre, with small amounts of umber for shadows. Create the drapery colors by mixing burnt sienna with black and white in varying proportions. Use glazes of ultramarine blue to create depth in the shadows.

techniques

• ·underpainting
• ·glazing
• ·chiaroscuro
• ·blending
• ·figure drawing

common pitfalls

• →Overworking the paint and losing the freshness of the initial layers.
• →Failing to accurately capture the proportions and anatomy of the figures.
• →Creating muddy colors by overmixing.
• →Ignoring the subtle value changes that create form.