plate no. 4300
The Yellow Girls
Cuno Amiet, 1931
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in color mixing, particularly achieving subtle skin tones, and in creating texture through repetitive brushstrokes. It also provides practice in simplified figure drawing and composition.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
3
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic outlines of the figures and the overall composition on the canvas.
- step 02
Block in the background with a base layer of blue, leaving space for the yellow flowers.
- step 03
Apply the yellow flower shapes using small, repetitive brushstrokes.
- step 04
Mix the skin tones using yellow, white, and small amounts of red and blue.
- step 05
Apply the base skin tone to the figures, paying attention to the light and shadow areas.
- step 06
Add details to the faces, including the eyes, lips, and hair.
- step 07
Refine the shapes and values of the figures and the background.
- step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension.
color palette
primary · yellow ochre · titanium white · cerulean blue
secondary · cadmium red light · burnt sienna · black
Achieve the skin tones by mixing yellow ochre and titanium white, adding small amounts of red and blue for warmth and coolness. The background blue is a mix of cerulean blue and white. The yellow flowers are mostly yellow ochre with some cadmium red light.
techniques
- ·scumbling
- ·broken color
- ·simplified form
- ·color mixing
- ·layering
common pitfalls
- →Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
- →Getting the proportions of the figures wrong.
- →Making the background too uniform and lacking texture.
- →Not paying attention to the light and shadow on the figures.
- →Losing the overall simplicity of the painting by adding too much detail.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·cerulean blue oil paint
- ·cadmium red light oil paint
- ·#4 round brush
- ·#6 flat brush
- ·palette
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·linseed oil
- ·odorless mineral spirits
- ·medium gloss
Use a medium-textured canvas to help create a broken color effect. Consider using a limited palette to simplify the color mixing process.
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