plate no. 4601

Women in white stockings

Suzanne Valadon, 1924

oil, canvasPost-Impressionismgenre paintingfigurechairred dressstockingsflowersportrait

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students practice color mixing for skin tones and learn how to depict form using visible brushstrokes. It also provides an opportunity to study the composition and arrangement of elements in a figurative painting.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Create a light sketch of the figure and chair, paying attention to proportions and placement.
step 02
Block in the main areas of color: background, skin, dress, chair, and stockings.
step 03
Start refining the skin tones, using a variety of pinks, yellows, and whites.
step 04
Develop the red dress, adding details like the white dots and shadows.
step 05
Work on the chair, using browns and reds to create the wood grain.
step 06
Add details to the stockings, including highlights and shadows to suggest form.
step 07
Paint the flowers and the floor area, keeping the details simple.
step 08
Refine the overall painting, adjusting colors and values as needed.

color palette

primary · red · white · yellow ochre · raw umber

secondary · black · pink · brown · green

Skin tones are achieved by mixing white, yellow ochre, and a touch of red. The red dress is a mix of red with touches of brown and white for highlights and shadows.

techniques