plate no. 2439

Professor John Purser

oilNaturalismportraitportraitfiguremanclothingbeardacademic

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, particularly in capturing likeness and rendering realistic skin tones. It also provides practice in depicting clothing folds and textures.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Begin with a light sketch of the overall composition, focusing on proportions and placement of the figure.
step 02
Establish the background color with a thin wash of diluted paint.
step 03
Block in the main shapes of the figure, starting with the darkest values.
step 04
Gradually build up the mid-tones and highlights, paying attention to the light source.
step 05
Refine the facial features, focusing on accurate proportions and subtle value changes.
step 06
Add details to the clothing, such as folds and textures.
step 07
Paint the hair and beard, using short, broken brushstrokes to create texture.
step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to enhance the form and create depth.

color palette

primary · ivory black · raw umber · titanium white

secondary · burnt sienna · yellow ochre · ultramarine blue

Mix skin tones using white, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and a touch of ultramarine blue for shadows. Achieve the blacks by mixing ivory black and raw umber. Use ultramarine blue and white for the background.

techniques

·portrait sketching
·value studies
·blending
·layering
·rendering textures

common pitfalls

→Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
→Over-blending the skin tones, resulting in a flat appearance.
→Not paying enough attention to the light source, leading to inaccurate shadows.
→Using too much black, making the painting look muddy.