Portrait of Fra Theodoro da Urbino

approach — 8 steps

color palette

primary · ivory black · cadmium red · yellow ochre · titanium white

secondary · viridian green · burnt umber · gold

Mix skin tones using yellow ochre, cadmium red, and titanium white, with small amounts of burnt umber for shadows. Achieve the green background by mixing viridian green with yellow ochre and white. Create the gold halo and book details by mixing yellow ochre with a touch of burnt umber and white for highlights.

techniques

• ·glazing
• ·scumbling
• ·portraiture
• ·rendering textures
• ·color layering

common pitfalls

• →Overworking the skin tones and creating a muddy appearance.
• →Failing to capture the likeness of the figure.
• →Making the floral background too distracting from the main subject.
• →Incorrect proportions of the figure and the book.