Artists & Illustrators - UK (2020-01)

DEMO

Peter’s materials

•Paints

Titanium White, Yellow Ochre,

Genuine Chinese Vermilion,

Alizarin Crimson, Sap Green,

Ultramarine Blue and Raw

Umber, all Michael Harding

Artists Oil Colours

•Brushes

Rosemary & Co hog filberts,

sizes 2, 4, 8 and 12

•Canvas

Winsor & Newton cotton

canvas, 50x40cm

•Low odour solvent

1

DRAW ROUGHLY

Begin by killing the white of the

canvas with a wash of a mix of Yellow

Ochre and Titanium White diluted with

solvents. Once covered, wipe away the

moisture with a rag so only the stain

of the colour remains. Roughly draw

the outline shape of the face using a

thinned down mixture of the Titanium

White and Raw Umber.

Shade in the mass of hair and plot

where the main facial features will go.

Do this by squinting to focus on the

shaded areas in your subject. Don’t

try to make it all look perfect at this

stage, aim for more of a rough version

of the head.

2

PLOT THE FEATURES

Use the same mix as before,

darkened with a little more Raw

Umber, to plot the facial features more

accurately. Again, you’re not looking

for a highly detailed painting here:

these brown brushstrokes should

simply suggest where the layers of

flesh-coloured paint will go, rather

than dictate exactly like a colouring-in

book. Accuracy-wise, aim for

approximately 80%, leaving room

for further improvement later on.

3

PAINT THE

DARKEST TONES

Identify where the darkest darks occur

on the subject and mix a suitable dark

brown using Ultramarine Blue and

Raw Umber. Apply this with the size 4

or 8 brushes in confident, complete

strokes. Don’t use any solvent to thin

A

lla Prima is Italian for “at the first” and

in painting terms means completing

a painting at once, in a single sitting

or session. The overall aim is to capture an

immediate impression of the subject in an

uncomplicated and direct way. This direct way of

painting is one of the great historic approaches

to painting as observed in the work of everyone

from Diego Velázquez and Frans Hals to Anders

Zorn and John Singer Sargent.

Working in the alla prima method allows me

to focus on what really matters – the shapes,

tones and colours – while forgetting about the

fussy details and the temptation of overworking.

I love how this economical and exciting way of

painting can really give life to a portrait, as if

the sitter may turn and wink at you or even

start a conversation at any moment.

This painting demonstration begins with a

drawing using just the brush and builds using

the two main traditional techniques when

working with oils: painting dark to light and

painting thin to thick. Although I have used

oils for this portrait, these same traditional

principles could also apply to acrylics.

However, if you are working with acrylics,

don’t thin the paint with water as I thinned the

oils with solvent. Instead, try and use the

acrylics as thickly as possible – in fact, heavy

body acrylics work best for this.

the paint at this stage – using pigment

neat from the tube instead.

Work towards the next darkest

tones, the dark browns and oranges,

by introducing a little Genuine

Chinese Vermilion or Yellow Ochre

to the umber mixture.

4

BLOCK IN THE

MID-TONES

Mix Genuine Chinese Vermilion, Yellow

Ochre and Titanium White to create a

good mid-tone skin colour. Add small

amounts of Genuine Chinese

Vermilion or Alizarin Crimson to this

mix for the warmer parts of the face,

such as the nose and cheeks.

Balance these warmer areas with

a cooler mixture of Alizarin Crimson,

Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White

which will give you lovely purples that

work very well around the eyes,

jawline and where the top of the

head meets the hair.

Top tip

Draw out your initial

composition with a

brush, not a pencil –

it keeps things fluid

and painterly

2

1

3