Sir Humphry Davy Rolleston, Seated, Holding a Mace

approach — 8 steps

color palette

primary · ivory black · raw umber · burnt sienna · cadmium yellow

secondary · alizarin crimson · ultramarine blue

Mix various shades of brown and gray for the background. Use yellow and burnt sienna with touches of black and white to create the gold tones. Mix alizarin crimson with white for the skin tones, adding touches of yellow and blue for variation.

techniques

• ·portrait painting
• ·glazing
• ·blending
• ·color mixing
• ·rendering textures

common pitfalls

• →Getting the proportions wrong in the initial sketch.
• →Overworking the skin tones and losing the freshness.
• →Failing to capture the likeness of the subject.
• →Making the gold too bright and unrealistic.