plate no. 8992
Portrait of a Young Woman
George Demetrescu Mirea, 1887
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 creating soft, diffused lighting and loose brushwork.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 15 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the head, shoulders, and hair.
- step 02
Establish the overall value structure with a thin wash of neutral color.
- step 03
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, hair, and clothing.
- step 04
Begin refining the facial features, paying close attention to the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- step 05
Develop the hair, using loose brushstrokes to suggest texture and volume.
- step 06
Add highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension.
- step 07
Refine the background and clothing, keeping them soft and understated.
- step 08
Add final details and adjust values as needed.
color palette
primary · raw umber · titanium white · burnt sienna
secondary · ivory black · yellow ochre
Mix skin tones using white, raw umber, and burnt sienna, with small amounts of yellow ochre for warmth. Use ivory black to darken values and create shadows. Achieve a soft, muted palette by mixing complementary colors.
techniques
- ·portrait drawing
- ·value studies
- ·color mixing
- ·blending
- ·scumbling
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the details and losing the loose, painterly feel.
- →Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
- →Making the skin tones too saturated or unnatural.
- →Ignoring the subtle value changes that create form.
- →Failing to capture the likeness of the subject.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas
- ·raw umber oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·burnt sienna oil paint
- ·ivory black oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·#4 round brush
- ·#6 filbert brush
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·linseed oil
- ·turpentine
- ·medium gloss
Use a medium-grain canvas for a slightly textured surface. Consider using a limited palette to simplify the color mixing process.
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