Portrait of the Comtesse du Barry

approach — 8 steps

color palette

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

secondary · ultramarine blue · raw umber · alizarin crimson

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, yellow ochre, and a touch of red. Use ultramarine blue and white for the dress, and raw umber for shadows. Mix small amounts of alizarin crimson to create the pinkish hues in the face.

techniques

• ·portraiture
• ·blending
• ·glazing
• ·scumbling
• ·rendering lace

common pitfalls

• →Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
• →Getting the proportions wrong, leading to an inaccurate likeness.
• →Failing to blend the skin tones smoothly.
• →Overworking the details, making the painting look stiff.
• →Not paying attention to the lighting, resulting in a flat image.