plate no. 5731
Self Portrait
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering skin tones. It also provides practice in depicting clothing and simple objects.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
2
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the head, body, and hands.
- step 02
Establish the background color with a thin wash of dark brown.
- step 03
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, clothing, and palette.
- step 04
Begin layering and blending the skin tones, paying attention to highlights and shadows.
- step 05
Refine the details of the face, including the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- step 06
Add details to the clothing, such as the collar and jacket.
- step 07
Paint the palette and brushes, focusing on their shapes and colors.
- step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension.
color palette
primary · titanium white · burnt umber · cadmium red light
secondary · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre
Mix skin tones using white, red, yellow ochre, and a touch of blue. Achieve darks by mixing burnt umber and ultramarine blue.
techniques
- ·portrait painting
- ·blending
- ·layering
- ·value control
- ·color mixing
common pitfalls
- →Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
- →Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
- →Failing to capture the likeness of the subject.
- →Ignoring the subtle variations in skin tone.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas
- ·oil paints
- ·round brushes
- ·flat brushes
- ·palette
- ·linseed oil
- ·turpentine
- ·palette knife
optional
- ·medium gloss
- ·retouch varnish
Use a medium-grain canvas for best results. Consider using a limited palette to simplify color mixing.
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