plate no. 7143
Young girl with long hair
Moise Kisling, 1942
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and creating smooth gradations in skin tones. It also offers practice in rendering hair and clothing textures.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
3
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the head, shoulders, and hair.
- step 02
Apply a thin, warm underpainting to the entire canvas.
- step 03
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, hair, clothing, and background.
- step 04
Refine the skin tones with subtle gradations, paying attention to highlights and shadows.
- step 05
Add details to the hair, using thin layers of paint to create texture and volume.
- step 06
Paint the clothing, focusing on the pattern and folds.
- step 07
Adjust the background to create depth and atmosphere.
- step 08
Add final details and highlights to complete the painting.
color palette
primary · yellow ochre · burnt umber · titanium white
secondary · cadmium red · ivory black
Mix yellow ochre and white for the base skin tone, adding small amounts of red and umber for warmth and shadows. Use burnt umber and black for the dark stripes of the shirt. Mix yellow ochre with burnt umber for the hair, adding white for highlights.
techniques
- ·blending
- ·layering
- ·glazing
- ·scumbling
- ·portraiture
common pitfalls
- →Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
- →Overworking the skin tones and losing the subtle gradations.
- →Making the hair look flat and lifeless.
- →Ignoring the background and not creating depth.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas
- ·oil paints
- ·palette
- ·palette knife
- ·assorted brushes
- ·linseed oil
- ·odorless mineral spirits
optional
- ·medium (e.g., Liquin)
- ·varnish
Use a medium-grain canvas for best results. Consider using a limited palette of colors to simplify the mixing process.
tips & new artworks in your inbox
no spam — unsubscribe anytime.
or to save artworks, chat, and track progress
related guides
