I just recently practiced painting skin, making a large hand. I really enjoyed going big! The shadows and colors stand out like independent shapes and blocks, there is room to see what is going on! I can puzzle it together piece by piece.
This time I did not start with the blue and paint over with raw sienna. Instead i outlined the shadows with the burnt umber, and filled in with the skin color. I liked this way of working, as i felt i could more easily use the background texture, shining through in places, f.ex. under the right eye, where the cyan background comes through under the eyelash. it is also a lot quicker to skip the blue step.
Mixed media on huntonitt panel
Acrylics, collage and acrylic inks
50x58cm (0.3cm deep)
Going a lot bigger than my last portrait
what did i learn?
- I did not spend enough time on the collage/texture phase, and had to add pieces later. Spend more time here, thinking of the composition, where to add interesting background.
- Outlining shades with raw umber first, then adding skin color: saves time, creates interesting texture elements. However, does the skin seem a little more see through?
- introducing green for the shading: using teal, raw umber, burnt sienna, white.
- Adding a reflection light in the left cheek, in spite of it not being in the reference photo, it adds a 3D effect, and helps sculpting
- paler lips: more realistic.