plate no. 3843
Portrait of a Woman
Suzanne Valadon, 1917
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering skin tones. It also provides practice in depicting fabric and background patterns with simplified forms.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes of the figure and background, focusing on proportions and composition.
- step 02
Establish the main color blocks for the skin, hair, drapery, and background.
- step 03
Begin layering skin tones, using subtle variations of pink, yellow, and white.
- step 04
Define the facial features, paying attention to the shapes of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- step 05
Add details to the hair, using short, directional brushstrokes.
- step 06
Develop the background pattern, simplifying the forms and using a limited color palette.
- step 07
Refine the drapery, adding highlights and shadows to create a sense of volume.
- step 08
Add final details and adjust values to create a cohesive and balanced composition.
color palette
primary · titanium white · yellow ochre · burnt umber · cadmium red light
secondary · viridian green · ultramarine blue · ivory black
Mix skin tones by blending white, yellow ochre, and a touch of red. Use viridian green and yellow ochre to create the muted greens of the background. Add ultramarine blue to black to create the dark fabric.
techniques
- ·portraiture
- ·color mixing
- ·layering
- ·blending
- ·simplified forms
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the skin tones, resulting in a muddy appearance.
- →Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
- →Making the background too detailed and distracting.
- →Failing to capture the essence of the subject's expression.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas 16x20
- ·#2 round brush
- ·#6 flat brush
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·burnt umber oil paint
- ·cadmium red light oil paint
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·linseed oil
- ·odorless mineral spirits
Use a medium-tooth canvas for optimal paint adhesion. Consider using a limited palette to simplify the color mixing process.
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