plate no. 0169

Portrait of the painter Antonino Leto

oil, canvasImpressionismportraitportraitfiguremanclothingfacebackground

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in loose brushwork, color mixing for skin tones, and creating depth through layering and implied detail. It also provides practice in capturing a likeness with expressive strokes.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the figure, focusing on the head and shoulders.
step 02
Establish the background with loose, blended strokes of browns, reds, and creams.
step 03
Block in the main areas of the face with a base layer of skin tones, paying attention to the light and shadow.
step 04
Start defining the features of the face with darker tones for shadows and lighter tones for highlights, using short, expressive brushstrokes.
step 05
Paint the clothing with broad strokes, focusing on the overall shape and folds rather than precise details.
step 06
Add details to the hair and facial hair, using a smaller brush and varying the direction of the strokes.
step 07
Refine the edges of the figure and clothing, softening some and sharpening others to create depth.
step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to enhance the form and create a sense of realism.

color palette

primary · burnt umber · titanium white · cadmium red · yellow ochre

secondary · ivory black · raw sienna · ultramarine blue

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, red, yellow ochre, and a touch of umber. Use ultramarine blue and burnt umber to create dark shadows and neutral tones.

techniques

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

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the loose, expressive quality of the original.
→Creating muddy colors by overmixing.
→Failing to establish a strong value structure.
→Getting bogged down in precise rendering of details early on.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 16x20
·oil paints (burnt umber, titanium white, cadmium red, yellow ochre, ivory black, raw sienna, ultramarine blue)
·#4 round brush
·#8 flat brush
·#2 filbert brush
·palette
·linseed oil
·turpentine