plate no. 5892
Son Grand-père
Jules Bastien-Lepage, 1874
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering realistic skin tones, as well as creating depth and atmosphere in a landscape background.
technical profile
palette complexity
4
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
4
compositional simplicity
3
study guide
est. 20 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic composition, focusing on proportions and placement of the figure.
- step 02
Block in the background with broad strokes, establishing the overall color and value relationships.
- step 03
Establish the darks of the clothing and the main tree trunks.
- step 04
Begin layering in the skin tones, starting with mid-tones and gradually adding highlights and shadows.
- step 05
Refine the details of the face, paying attention to the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- step 06
Add texture to the beard and hair using short, broken brushstrokes.
- step 07
Develop the details of the clothing and chair, capturing the folds and textures.
- step 08
Add final highlights and details to the background to create depth and atmosphere.
color palette
primary · ivory black · raw umber · titanium white · cadmium red light
secondary · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre · sap green
Mix skin tones by blending white, red, and a touch of yellow ochre and raw umber. Achieve the greens in the background by mixing blue, yellow, and a touch of brown for muted tones.
techniques
- ·portraiture
- ·scumbling
- ·glazing
- ·chiaroscuro
- ·alla prima
common pitfalls
- →Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
- →Overworking the skin tones and losing the freshness of the paint.
- →Failing to create a sense of depth in the background.
- →Making the darks too flat and lifeless.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas 18x24
- ·ivory black oil paint
- ·raw umber oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·cadmium red light oil paint
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·round brushes sizes 2, 4, 6
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·linseed oil
- ·medium gloss
Use a medium-tooth canvas for better texture. Consider using a limited palette to simplify color mixing.
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