This is a 9 x 11 portrait done in watercolor. The face was a little tilted on one side and that is a composition that I always have problems with so I thought this would make a good practice piece.
I should have taken more time to sketch the project out; it is maybe the most important part of a painting because no matter how skilled you are at technique nothing can fix a bad design once you are committed to it.
I started with a lot of washes with the browns and warm colors of the face and then let that dry. I later deepened the face values and gave it more color. The nose was in the wrong place but I didn't realize it until the mouth was committed. Like I said the tilted face gives me a lot of problems. I had to use a lot of clear water to lift out the colors of the nose and repaint it in the right place, but I had already messed up the mouth. I thought the mistakes looked OK so I left them- that is the adventure of watercolor.
I realized one eye was higher than the other, this is always tricky on a face that is tilted over sideways. I reworked one eye to lower it and then the other eye to raise it. I think a casual observer would never have seen the problem but I would not be happy. It was always my intention to have a lock of hair over one eye but then thought that two or three locks would hide my mistakes.
I did the hair with a wide moppy brush and kept it loose. I did not plan to paint in all the hair but only enough to describe it and have areas of hair receding into the background.
After it dried I thought the face needed a little warm up so I splashed in some yellow here and there, and put a streak or two in the hair. The last step was to take a liner brush and use some white gesso to bring back a few highlights that were lost.
I hope you enjoy.
Please see the tab for pricing options to commission your own portrait in charcoal.
Use the share buttons below to save and share this to your social networks.
I should have taken more time to sketch the project out; it is maybe the most important part of a painting because no matter how skilled you are at technique nothing can fix a bad design once you are committed to it.
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| Watercolor Portrait of a Woman |
I started with a lot of washes with the browns and warm colors of the face and then let that dry. I later deepened the face values and gave it more color. The nose was in the wrong place but I didn't realize it until the mouth was committed. Like I said the tilted face gives me a lot of problems. I had to use a lot of clear water to lift out the colors of the nose and repaint it in the right place, but I had already messed up the mouth. I thought the mistakes looked OK so I left them- that is the adventure of watercolor.
I realized one eye was higher than the other, this is always tricky on a face that is tilted over sideways. I reworked one eye to lower it and then the other eye to raise it. I think a casual observer would never have seen the problem but I would not be happy. It was always my intention to have a lock of hair over one eye but then thought that two or three locks would hide my mistakes.
I did the hair with a wide moppy brush and kept it loose. I did not plan to paint in all the hair but only enough to describe it and have areas of hair receding into the background.
After it dried I thought the face needed a little warm up so I splashed in some yellow here and there, and put a streak or two in the hair. The last step was to take a liner brush and use some white gesso to bring back a few highlights that were lost.
I hope you enjoy.
Please see the tab for pricing options to commission your own portrait in charcoal.
Use the share buttons below to save and share this to your social networks.
