ArtistsNetwork.com 65“
A figure shouldn’t
distract the viewer
from the main
subject; instead, it
should enhance the
visual experience.
”
- Keep perspective in mind.
Besides the gesture, the other impor-
tant aspect of portraying realistic
fi gures in a painting is the principle
of perspective. Considering that most
landscapes are drawn at eye level, all
of the fi gures’ heads, whether near or
distant, must fall in one line: the line
of vision. As fi gures appear closer to
the foreground, they increase in size,
but the heads still remain touching
the line of vision. - Consider locale when
working on skin tones. When
painting skin tones in tropical or
warm-weather countries, burnt
sienna is very eff ective. For cold-
weather countries, jaune brilliant can
be useful. In both cases, orange can be
used to warm the skin tone (in sun);
burnt umber or Van Dyke brown can
cool it (in shade). Using a complemen-
tary color such as blue to denote
shade may gray down the fl esh tones,
causing them to lose their natural
warmth and vitality. - Accessorize the fi gure. Go
beyond the fi gure to add a sense of
realism and vitality to your landscape
paintings. Include items such as walk-
ing sticks, scarves, open umbrellas,
rucksacks, books, packages, sun-
glasses and smartphones to convey
the environment and setting.
mind that the human fi gure is 1 part
head: 6 parts torso—and that the
head of an adult is proportionally
smaller than that of a child’s.
- Th e placement of the head and
the position of the shoulders are
the most critical components. Th ey
can denote what specifi c task a fi gure
is performing. Once these gestures
are captured, painting the rest of the
body is relatively easy. Th e lower part
of the body can be created by the drag
of a wet brush unless you need to con-
vey movement or a specifi c activity,
such as kicking a ball. - Let the color of one part of
the body run into another. Doing
so can create a more credible visual
experience. We may not realize it, but
when we observe things around us,
adjacent colors tend to merge.
ABOVE
In Up the Stairs (watercolor on paper,
14¼ x10¼ ), I depicted the group of people
as a unit.LEFT
Most of the fi gures’ heads fall on the line
of vision in Towards Light (watercolor
on paper, 10¼ x14¼ ).