plate no. 5415

The Refugee (Yvonne Aubicq)

William Orpen, 1917

oilPost-Impressionismportraitportraitfigurewomanhairdressbackground

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering skin tones with subtle color variations. It also provides practice in loose, expressive brushwork and creating a sense of depth through layering.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the figure and background.
step 02
Establish the main areas of light and shadow using a thin wash of color.
step 03
Begin building up the skin tones, mixing subtle variations of pink, yellow, and white.
step 04
Define the features of the face, paying attention to the placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
step 05
Add details to the hair, using short, broken brushstrokes to create texture.
step 06
Paint the dress and background, using loose, expressive brushwork to suggest form and depth.
step 07
Refine the details and adjust the values as needed.
step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to create a sense of realism.

color palette

primary · titanium white · yellow ochre · cadmium red light · ultramarine blue

secondary · raw umber · alizarin crimson · sap green

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, yellow ochre, and cadmium red light, adding small amounts of blue or umber to adjust the temperature. The background is created with mixes of white, blue, yellow, and pink.

techniques

·wet-on-wet blending
·broken color
·scumbling
·layering
·color mixing

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details, resulting in a stiff or unnatural appearance.
→Using colors straight from the tube without mixing, leading to a flat or lifeless painting.
→Ignoring the importance of value contrast, resulting in a muddy or indistinct image.
→Failing to capture the likeness of the subject.