plate no. 3308

Self-portrait

Oleksa Novakivskyi, 1935

oilPost-Impressionismself-portraitportraitfiguremanbeardself-portraithair

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, color mixing for skin tones, and capturing likeness through expressive brushstrokes. It also provides practice in depicting textures like hair and beard.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the head, shoulders, and hand.
step 02
Establish the main light and shadow areas with a thin wash of burnt umber or a similar earth tone.
step 03
Block in the general skin tones using a limited palette of warm and cool colors.
step 04
Develop the features of the face, paying close attention to the eyes, nose, and mouth.
step 05
Add details to the hair and beard, using a variety of brushstrokes to create texture.
step 06
Refine the clothing and background, using loose brushstrokes and subtle color variations.
step 07
Adjust the values and colors as needed to create a sense of depth and realism.
step 08
Add final highlights and details to bring the painting to life.

color palette

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

secondary · ultramarine blue · viridian green · alizarin crimson

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, yellow ochre, and a touch of red. Use small amounts of blue or green to cool down the skin tones in shadow areas. Mix browns and blacks for the hair and beard.

techniques

·alla prima
·broken color
·scumbling
·color mixing
·portraiture

common pitfalls

→Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
→Focusing too much on details early on, before establishing the overall composition and values.
→Getting the proportions of the face wrong, leading to an inaccurate likeness.
→Ignoring the subtle color variations in the skin tones.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 16x20
·oil paints (titanium white, burnt umber, yellow ochre, cadmium red, ultramarine blue)
·assorted brushes (round, flat, filbert)
·palette
·palette knife
·linseed oil
·turpentine or odorless mineral spirits
·rags