plate no. 8682

Scenery Painter Troels Lund

oil, canvasAcademicismportraitportraitmanclothingfacehairhand

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including accurate proportions, rendering skin tones, and capturing likeness. It also provides practice in layering and blending to create subtle gradations of light and shadow.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Create a light sketch of the figure, paying attention to proportions and placement on the canvas.
step 02
Block in the background with a thin layer of dark gray, establishing the overall value.
step 03
Begin blocking in the main shapes of the face, hair, and clothing with thin washes of color.
step 04
Gradually build up the skin tones, using subtle layers of color and blending to create smooth transitions.
step 05
Add details to the eyes, nose, and mouth, focusing on capturing the likeness of the subject.
step 06
Refine the clothing and background, adding details and adjusting values as needed.
step 07
Add highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension.
step 08
Make final adjustments to the overall composition and color balance.

color palette

primary · titanium white · raw umber · burnt sienna · ivory black

secondary · cadmium red light · ultramarine blue

Skin tones are achieved by mixing white, raw umber, and burnt sienna, with small amounts of red and blue for subtle variations. The gray background is created by mixing black and white.

techniques