plate no. 2316

Portrait of a man

Nikos Nikolaou, 1969

oilPost-Impressionismportraitportraitmanfiguresuitcigarmustache

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering form using visible brushstrokes. It also provides practice in mixing skin tones and creating a sense of depth with subtle value changes.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the figure, focusing on the head, shoulders, and hand.
step 02
Establish the background color with a thin wash of neutral gray.
step 03
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, suit, and cigar, using broad brushstrokes.
step 04
Refine the skin tones by layering and blending different shades of pink, yellow, and brown.
step 05
Add details to the face, such as the eyes, nose, and mouth, paying attention to the subtle variations in value.
step 06
Develop the form of the suit by adding shadows and highlights with darker and lighter shades of purple and blue.
step 07
Paint the hand and cigar, focusing on the details of the fingers and the texture of the cigar.
step 08
Add final touches and highlights to the entire painting, using small brushstrokes to create a sense of realism.

color palette

primary · titanium white · ivory black · yellow ochre · burnt umber

secondary · ultramarine blue · alizarin crimson · raw sienna

Mix skin tones by combining white, yellow ochre, burnt umber, and a touch of alizarin crimson. Create the suit color by mixing black, ultramarine blue, and a small amount of alizarin crimson.

techniques

·alla prima
·broken color
·scumbling
·color mixing
·portraiture

common pitfalls

→Overblending the colors, resulting in a flat and lifeless painting.
→Getting the proportions wrong, leading to an inaccurate likeness.
→Ignoring the subtle variations in value, making the painting look too uniform.
→Overworking the details, causing the painting to lose its freshness and spontaneity.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas (12x16 inches)
·oil paints (titanium white, ivory black, yellow ochre, burnt umber, ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, raw sienna)
·palette
·assorted brushes (round and flat)
·linseed oil
·turpentine or odorless mineral spirits
·palette knife