PORTRAIT EXERCISES
4
Use a clean 2-inch brush loaded
with Primary Magenta, Cobalt
Blue, Permanent Blue Violet, Burnt
Sienna and a touch of Titanium White
to begin blocking in the shaded area
of the face. After a couple of
applications, vary the colour slightly
with more violet or variety of blues.
Look back at the reference photo (or
sitter) to determine which sections are
lighter or darker.5
Once the cool side is added, draw
some of the blue-violet colour into
the warmer areas of the face using a
1.5-inch brush. This helps link areas
and substantiate the strength of
tones. Use a combination of cool
colours, including some Prussian Blue,
to begin blocking in the background.6
Use the background colour to
better shape the face, adding
Titanium White and Yellow Ochre to
warm the cool combinations on the
right. Once the entire canvas is
covered, paint the hair using Titanium
White and Yellow Ochre again and
making the same transition from cool
to warm.7
Switch to the 1.5- and 1-inch
brushes to start introducing
crisper details. This can be time
consuming as each mark needs a
certain amount of accuracy.
Overlay some of the initial vibrant
yellows with subtler pastel tints and
earthier variations. For added
vibrancy, however, avoid the actual
earth colours such as Raw or Burnt
Umber and instead combine
complementary colours to create
them, so for example yellow and
violet.8
The choice here is whether to
keep the warm yellows as they
are or add a more naturalistic skin
pigment. Mix pinks from various reds,
yellow, Titanium White and small shots
of blues or violets.
Allow pockets of the vibrant,
underlying yellows and reds to filter
through these naturalistic additions
and elevate the pastel tints. Richer
darks and purer whites can define the
portrait, while the cools areas are left
to complement the warms. In general,
it’s easier starting with vibrant colours
than earthier ones as they becomefully integrated with the scene rather
than stuck on as an afterthought.
Hashim’s forthcoming book, Painting
Portraits in Acrylics, will be published
by Search Press, RRP £14.99.
http://www.hashimakib.co.uk4
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