plate no. 8388

Pair

Arturo Souto, 1951

lithography, paperExpressionismgenre paintingfiguresportraitseatedinteriortable

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in expressive mark-making and understanding value relationships to create form. It also provides practice in capturing the essence of a subject with minimal detail.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 7 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the figures and table.
step 02
Establish the darkest areas with a diluted dark color, focusing on the man's figure and the woman's clothing.
step 03
Gradually build up the mid-tones, using hatching and cross-hatching techniques to create texture and depth.
step 04
Use a dry brush to create a textured background, blending some areas and leaving others more defined.
step 05
Refine the details of the faces, paying attention to the eyes and expressions.
step 06
Add highlights to the woman's legs and face to create contrast.
step 07
Review the overall composition and adjust values as needed to create a sense of balance and harmony.

color palette

primary · ivory black · raw umber

secondary · titanium white

Mix ivory black with raw umber to create a range of dark tones. Use titanium white sparingly to create highlights and lighten the background.

techniques

·hatching
·cross-hatching
·dry brush
·value study
·expressive mark-making

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the expressive quality of the original.
→Creating too much contrast too early, making it difficult to blend and adjust values.
→Ignoring the negative space and focusing only on the figures.
→Not paying attention to proportions and creating distorted figures.