plate no. 0517
Seated woman in white dress
George Elgar Hicks, 1879
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will develop skills in capturing light and shadow on fabric and creating a sense of depth with loose brushstrokes. Students will also learn to simplify complex forms and suggest details rather than rendering them precisely.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Lightly sketch the main shapes: the figure, dress, and background trees.
- step 02
Establish the overall color scheme with a thin wash of warm browns and yellows.
- step 03
Block in the main areas of light and shadow on the figure and dress.
- step 04
Begin to define the form of the face and hands, paying attention to subtle value changes.
- step 05
Add details to the dress, such as the ruffles and folds, using broken brushstrokes.
- step 06
Indicate the trees and foliage in the background with loose, gestural marks.
- step 07
Paint the dog with dark values and soft edges.
- step 08
Refine the details and adjust the values to create a sense of depth and atmosphere.
color palette
primary · titanium white · raw umber · burnt sienna
secondary · ivory black · cadmium red light · yellow ochre
Achieve the skin tones by mixing white, red, and a touch of yellow ochre. Create the dress's subtle shades by adding small amounts of umber or black to white. Mix greens for the foliage by combining yellow ochre and raw umber.
techniques
- ·broken color
- ·scumbling
- ·glazing
- ·dry brushing
- ·alla prima
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the details and losing the loose, painterly quality.
- →Creating harsh edges and losing the soft, atmospheric effect.
- →Failing to capture the subtle value changes in the skin tones.
- →Making the background too detailed and distracting from the figure.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas 16x20
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·raw umber oil paint
- ·burnt sienna oil paint
- ·ivory black oil paint
- ·cadmium red light oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·#4 round brush
- ·#6 filbert brush
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·linseed oil
- ·odorless mineral spirits
Use a medium-grain canvas for a slightly textured surface. Consider using a limited palette to simplify the color mixing process.
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