7 Position with care
I introduced Alizarin Crimson to the dress in
key places, including the shoulder straps and
the arched back, to emphasise tension.
Focusing carefully on the position of the
foot, I painted the triangular toe of the shoe.
I kept stepping back to see if I needed to
move an element as it is easier to make
changes before detail was added. I felt the
diagonal strap gave enough information.
I was equally cautious with the back foot,
only doing the minimum. The important thing
here was ensuring where the bottom of the
back foot was in relation to the front one, so
the legs were in proportion.
8 Brighten the colours
A few sweeps and splashes of Cadmium Yellow Orange enlivened the painting after
all that focus on the feet. This orange is my favourite colour; vibrant and alive.
I wanted the dancer to occupy more space, though in hindsight this splash at the back
somehow distracted from the pose and I might have done it differently another time.
The hair plume was painted with a combination of Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson.9 Be responsive
One way to compensate for strokes that don’t go to plan is to use complementary colours
nearby to tone down the whole. I must have felt the change that came with the orange splash
in the previous step and so I chose to add some complementary Prussian Blue marks.
I was careful to keep the blue to the dry spaces, as I didn’t want it mixing with the oranges
and reds and therefore darkening the dress. I also brought more Yellow Ochre into the neck
and feet now, as the blue seemed to call for this. Always try to respond to marks in this way.
10 Finishing touches
I wanted to explain the eyes more clearly to
add character. I did my best not to be too
detailed here as then other areas might need
more attention too. It was enough to darken
the eyebrows and upper eyelash line, then
add a touch for the nostril and line dividing
the lips. I used mostly French Ultramarine
with a little Vandyke Brown for these darks.
With a few final touches for the pupil and iris,
I felt this was enoughinformation.
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