Painting a Portrait of Stella
10 Jan 2011
I think a good place to start is to explain what colors I’m using. For this painting I’m laying out ten pigments on my palette. These are actually the same ten pigments I use for most of my paintings; titanium white, cadmium yellow light, cadmium orange, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue and viridian. On occasion I’ll add a few colors to this ten-pigment palette but for the most part these colors allow me to mix the colors I need to paint most subjects.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Painting a portrait of Stella - Initial drawing and average skin tone
To begin I apply a warm grayish tone to the canvas. I use a large old brush to scrub a mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna with generous amounts OMS (odorless mineral spirits) onto the canvas. After letting it dry for a few minutes I wipe it down with a clean rag. The effect is a slightly warm (in color) surface that I can paint on allowing me to judge colors more accurately. I personally find it difficult to judge colors when painting directly onto a bright white canvas.
After the tone is dry I use some of the same mixture to do a quick sketch of the portrait. Time spent here is generally no longer than a few minutes. I don’t want to spend a ton of time on this step because much of the drawing will be covered with the first layer of paint anyway. The point of this step is to place general marks of the face, hair and shoulders to give me a place to start painting and a sense of composition.
Once the marks are set I want to mix an average light color of the skin. For this painting a combination of mostly cad. orange, yellow ochre and a touch of cad. red mixed with some white make for a good start. With generous amounts of medium and a soft brush I apply the skin tone thinly on the face area. I’m keeping in mind the fat over lean rule, meaning painting thin at the start of the painting and working with thicker paint later.
Starting the painting at the eyes
I start the painting with the eyes as I typically do with portraits. This is a good place to start because if I can’t get the eyes right then there’s no point in moving on. Also, the measurement between the eyes, nose and mouth will help me maintain correct proportions later as I refer back to these measurements for the rest of the painting. For example, as you can see in the image above, the eye to the right is mostly complete before I move on to the left eye. If I’m basing the next feature of her face off the last part I painted then it needs to be accurate before moving on.
The shadows of the skin are mixed with yellow ochre, alizarin crimson and viridian.
Making sure the measurements and shapes are correct
Getting that second eye in now and continuing on to the nose. Through this whole process I’m staying very close to the initial color I placed for the average skin tone and also the mixture for the shadows. Although the color is important it takes a back seat in my mind to the most important factor, making sure proportions are right. In order to do this I look at the large shapes of the face and relate them to each other.
At this point I brush in some lines to indicate the placement of the lips.
Placing the highlights on the eyes
I like the eyes the way they are so they’re ready for the final highlights. One benefit of painting the highlights in at this point is that it will help me judge the values of the rest of the painting (the word “values” basically refers to the lights and darks in a painting. I’ll write more in depth about values in a future post). Before I started the painting I could see that the lightest value on Stella’s face were the small highlights in her eyes. I load a small brush with pure white and place the highlights very carefully. I can continue the painting now knowing that nothing else in the painting should be lighter than those highlights. This helps maintain a sense of realism in the painting.
Finishing up the face and moving on to the hair
I’m modeling the lips and cheeks a bit more now. Adding a touch more cad. red into the average mix for the skin on my palette now for the cheeks. Since the light is coming from a window to the left I want to add the cooler skin tone on some of the planes of her face that are perpendicular to the window. I combine cobalt blue, alizarin crimson and white to the skin mixture to get this cool tone.
You can see in the image to the right that I start to paint the hair. This is a mixture mostly of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue and a touch of cad. red. I know that I will be painting over this with slightly cooler colors so the fact that her actual hair is not that reddish brown doesn’t bother me. In fact, painting cool colors on top of warm colors often adds an effect of realism that I really like.
Finishing the hair and starting the background
I’m painting down into the neck area here with a slightly more gray version of the skin color. I add a bit of viridian to gray the flesh mixture on my palette.
Adding more hair and some of the background now. The background color is a similar mixture as the hair, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue but I’m also adding viridian. To achieve the gradation of the background I’m adding a slight amount of white as I paint left to right.
Can you see how I’ve placed a stroke of cooler color in the hair in the image on the left? You can see it if you compare the colors in the hair on either side of her face. This is what I mean by painting cool over warm.
Painting the dress
The face is pretty much done at this point so I’m thinking about how I should paint the dress. My main concern is to not paint the dress in a way that will take away from the focus of the painting which is Stella’s face. I’m going to achieve this by painting the dress loosely, that is, paint it with less detail than other parts of the painting.
To get the color of the dress I mix burnt sienna, alizarin crimson and a touch of cobalt blue. In the image to the right you can see some cooler strokes. This mixture is a combination of alizarin crimson, cobalt blue and white. This indicates the cool light coming through the window. For the subtle dark lines in the dress I mix burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. The looseness of this approach also allows for the initial warm tone I applied to the canvas to show through creating some interesting texture. I like the effect and will make sure not to cover that up.
"Stella" 16x12 inches, oil on linen
… And here’s the final portrait. After sending a photo of the final painting to Stella’s parents they felt that the lips looked a little thin so I made them a little larger and softened the edges a bit. Done!
If you found this helpful please share this post or comment below. Thanks!
49 Comments Tags: child portrait, oil painting, painting demo, portrait demo, step by step
Jan 13, 2011 @ 16:06:58
omg, you paint like my friend john is trying to teach me. i am excited to follow what you have to share, life in one eye……………right up my alley, thnx piles, carla
xo
Jan 13, 2011 @ 17:02:36
Wow, Justin! This site is fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing your portrait painting process with fellow painters. I look forward to more!!
Jan 13, 2011 @ 17:03:25
Great stuff. Looking forward to more.
Jan 13, 2011 @ 19:39:32
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful gift. The process in so intriguing and the results amazing. I will watch for updates!
Diana
Jan 13, 2011 @ 20:47:07
Thanks, Justin! Been following your work since your painting trip down the CA coast.
Love it!
Pamela
Jan 13, 2011 @ 20:48:13
Great job. Wonderful to see her take shape in each photo.
Jan 13, 2011 @ 20:52:50
excelente~
Jan 13, 2011 @ 21:01:40
Justin…..I love this painting. You did such a fabulous job with her! I have struggled with portraits in the past. No doubt will struggle going forward. But you have encouraged me to try again with your lesson here!! Thank you very much.
Cheryl Pass recently posted..Cows By The Lake – Framed Finally
Jan 13, 2011 @ 21:02:22
Justin, thank you, thank you, thank you, for taking the time to do this! So much to learn but your process is very clear and helpful. I enjoy your work very much.
jacki newell recently posted..Clementine by JACKI NEWELL
Jan 13, 2011 @ 21:11:29
Hi Justin, I’ve been looking at your paintings for a long time and I like many of them very much, particularly the landscapes, which look more loosely painted than the still lifes or the portraits. How about a landscape demo? Keep up the good work. John
John Robinson recently posted..Dark Forest 137
Jan 13, 2011 @ 21:29:09
Thanks John. I’m sure I’ll get a landscape demo up at some point. Sooner than later hopefully!
Jan 13, 2011 @ 21:47:33
This is very helpful, Justin. Beautiful work!!! I am also interested in the brushes you use. Do you use sable for the thinner painting and bristol later? Also, may I ask how you price your work, price range for different sizes? I would very much appreciate answers to these questions.
Jan 14, 2011 @ 04:01:29
Thanks Anne, I’ll go into more detail about some of those things you mentioned for future posts but here’s the quick answer. Brushes, yes sables, mongoose soft hair. I use bristle brushes mainly with the larger thicker strokes. I don’t ever use bristles within detailed areas.
I loosely price my paintings by the square inch and depending upon the difficulty of the subject matter. Portraits are priced higher.
Jan 13, 2011 @ 22:07:27
what a wonderful surprize I stumbled on a lesson that made such good painting suggestions you make it seem so easy. I always want to put the eyes in early then the person can keep me company while I paint. Thank you so much for doing this and I would love to see much much more. Orel
Jan 13, 2011 @ 22:19:16
Great job Justin. I admire your work and your work ethic! Can’t wait to see more of your step by step. It’s amazing to see how close our process is, but how different the paint application and outcome is.
Jan 13, 2011 @ 23:35:40
Hi Justin, As well as being an gifted painter, you are an excellent communicator and teacher. Thank you for taking the time to share all this information about the completion of the portrait of Stella. I do have a question after reading it. What do you use for a medium? It has to be a major contributor to your free lose style which allows you to edit so adroitly. I keep admiring this portrait…Bravo Justin. Marie
Jan 14, 2011 @ 03:49:56
Thanks Marie, glad you liked it. I experiment from time to time with mediums… but right now I’m using 4prts Gamsol 1prt stand oil.
Jan 19, 2011 @ 23:52:14
Thanks again Justin. I’m anxious to give your formula a try. Marie
Jan 13, 2011 @ 23:46:59
I love your work, and thank you for the demo!!!!!
Jan 14, 2011 @ 00:56:27
I have admired your work for some time and have had questions as to how you accomplished certain effects. This is a very generous plan you have initiated. I’m looking forward to it.
Thanks!
Jan 14, 2011 @ 06:21:44
Excellent and articulate demonstration! Thankyou! looking forward to more.
Jan 14, 2011 @ 13:31:33
This is terrific, Justin.
Jan 14, 2011 @ 15:55:32
Thanks Justin, for the peek inside your process. I love all your work and look forward to more. Question – you mention; “Since the light is coming from a window to the left I want to add the cooler skin tone on some of the planes of her face that are perpendicular to the window.” What are you basing this decision on? Is there color theory behind it, or is it just the color you observed.
Thanks!
Jan 18, 2011 @ 15:31:57
Susan, since the daylight coming from the window is somewhat cool, I will need to reflect that coolness on the models face. The general “rule” here is cool light equals warm shadows. This is all relative of course. In this painting it’s rather subtle. This contrast of cool and warm is best seen when observing / painting from life and not from a photo but I did observe this while I was taking the picture.
Jan 14, 2011 @ 16:54:47
Dear Justin,
This is beautifully done. Fresh and very sweet. Thank you for sharing your process- very helpful.
Jan 14, 2011 @ 17:00:27
Great step-by-step … I’d love to see more like this!
Jan 15, 2011 @ 15:24:52
Love your demo and hope I can paint like this some day. Love to see more please!
Jan 15, 2011 @ 23:39:58
Adore your work and now adore how you explain it. Thank you…. so grateful….please continue!
Jan 16, 2011 @ 00:19:08
I’m so excited about this!!!! You have already influenced my painting and this is such a treat to see the how and why’s. You are most generous in sharing this and I will be following eagerly. I wonder if you work from life or photos or both. Is this portrait painted from a photo? Thanks.
Marilyn recently posted..Apple Pie and New Puppy
Jan 16, 2011 @ 01:49:39
Wonderful Justin!! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your process! Looking forward to future posts. I will share your post on Twitter as well. Cheers!
Debbie recently posted..And the Winner Is…
Jan 16, 2011 @ 18:25:00
Your work is fabulous ! Thanks for doing this. I am wondering if you took the photo that was referance for this painting yourself.
Jan 16, 2011 @ 18:43:10
Hi Carol. Yes, I took the photo reference.
Jan 16, 2011 @ 18:53:09
I’m so excited to have found you. I’m a tight, detailed painter & want to loosen up! Your style shows all the important points of the subject brilliantly. Thanks for your generosity! Will you do some florals in the future too?
Jan 19, 2011 @ 14:56:35
Yes, I’m sure I will. Thanks Pam.
Jan 16, 2011 @ 21:42:01
Justin – this is amazing on so many levels. thanks so much. Nick
Jan 16, 2011 @ 22:00:55
Thanks to you and Stella for the inspiration:) Good luck with your new job… and tell Steve if he has any extra iPads laying around he knows where to find me.
Jan 17, 2011 @ 00:13:20
Thanks for recommending this site to me, that’s an excellent tutorial! When painting portraits in the past I’ve usually blocked in the major face shapes and then put the features on, but I’ll have to try it your way as I can see the logic of measuring proportion and value from a single completed eye. Looking forward to future tutorials
L.P. Baker recently posted..New painting underway- using Lego!
Jan 17, 2011 @ 07:16:11
Hi! Thanks for sharing this. I love the portrait. I love the skintones. I’ve been struggling a bit to get my skintones just right, so I really appreciate your sharing which colors you use.
Jan 17, 2011 @ 17:16:39
Oh Justin this SO informative. Lately I’ve been focusing on portraits too so this is right down my line. I’ve never had anyone instruct me in this so this is truly an eye opening post. Never thought about initially painting the whole face in a thin wash like that – very smart idea.
“If I’m basing the next feature of her face off the last part I painted then it needs to be accurate before moving on.” Wow. Never thought about either. Maybe I need to start doing this instead of working on both eyes at once.
This has already become an important blog. You’re very knowledgeable in painting but you’re also getting good at this whole social/online thing. It’s exciting to watch.
Martyn Chamberlin… recently posted..Thomas Moran
Jan 18, 2011 @ 04:09:36
I love the new blog Justin, I posted a link to this on facebook and I will add it to my blogroll.
- Austin
Jan 19, 2011 @ 09:32:42
Great tutorial Justin.
Very helpful for an ametuer artist like me.
Jan 29, 2011 @ 17:12:35
I like the firm brush strokes which speak to your confidence – well deserved too.
Ron Wilson recently posted..Trial Island Rain study- 8 x 10 plein air oil
Feb 09, 2011 @ 06:27:19
Absolutely beautiful!
Stephan J. Smith recently posted..Gecko mosaic
Feb 23, 2011 @ 10:46:32
Wow, Justin, Beautiful painting! thanks so very much for this demo, and for imparting your expertise. You are truly a blessing to all of us wanting to learn and improve our skills.
Naomi recently posted..Pealed manderine
Jun 11, 2011 @ 22:55:47
Justin, following your blog is like having an artist friend stop by the studio. Thanks for your sharing your talents and insights. You continue to inspire!
Aug 06, 2011 @ 04:06:15
A gread website.Thank you. It is very helpful.
Sep 23, 2011 @ 17:49:51
Justin, thank you so much for sharing. Unbelievably helpful; again thank you and cheers.
Jan 15, 2012 @ 03:54:11
I am glad to have found this demo thanks for the message through Twitter, I will share it with students
Jo
Jan 20, 2012 @ 06:56:56
Your work inspiring ,thank you!
Come to Cape Cod Ma. So much to paint!,,