Portrait of a man sitting on a park bench

approach — 8 steps

color palette

primary · burnt umber · yellow ochre · ultramarine blue · titanium white

secondary · cadmium red · raw sienna · ivory black

Mix browns and grays by combining umber, ochre, blue, and white. Use red and yellow to create warm skin tones, and add blue to cool them down. Create the vest color by mixing yellow ochre, white, and a touch of burnt umber.

techniques

• ·alla prima
• ·broken color
• ·scumbling
• ·dry brushing
• ·color layering

common pitfalls

• →Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
• →Getting the proportions of the figure wrong.
• →Ignoring the subtle color variations in the shadows and highlights.
• →Overworking the details too early.