Portrait studies using colour. Layering paint. Handling hair.

Handling Hair

Let’s look at hair first! As we’ve seen in lesson 3, I like to make sure that the overall palette across the canvas is established at this stage – colour is relative and you want the general colours to predominate before working on the skin and features. I tend to group hair with the stage of rough-blocking the background and clothes – well, everything surrounding the face actually, hats included. Hair perhaps can pose some special challenges, at times requiring some trial and error and it’s easier to be loose and gestural before the face area is completed.

Method
I don’t like to get lost in individual strands – hair is a complex combination of natural colour, reflections and importantly, shadows. With the mass of hair, there are areas of extreme dark…even with light hair tones. That’s what I focus on, keeping the the following in mind:

1. Start with building the mass of hair in one or two tones. With modernist styles, this may well do the trick.
2. Darks need to be cool, regardless of the light colour. Blue/blacks underlying brown tones, a little green (yes green!) with blond.Then, build lights onto the dark base, keeping the idea of reflections for more than strands of hair.
3. Always keep the brush moving in the direction of the hair. The brushstrokes, direct or subtle, matter – the eye will then pick up the natural fall of the hair. Conversely, marks that go against the flow destroy the illusion. This is a great example of one of my mantras: it’s not important to be right, it’s the absence of wrong that creates the illusion. (this by the way, goes for skies, water and perspective).
4. The edges are often where all the action happens: look at sharp edges, diffused shadows and overlapping clumps of hair.

Interestingly, I have seen some high realist processes that follow the same sort of idea – they just keep the detail going, adding individual hairs and highlights.

Exercise

1. Add hair onto a low-tone base, either an underpainting that you are continuing to develop, or as an exercise similar to the video.
2. Should you have time, try the same process with different hair colours and styles.
3. In my book, light hair takes more time to achieve an effect that I am comfortable with – definitely worth the time to try, should this not be the predominant colour of the portrait that you are currently developing.

Layering colour onto a low-tone base

You might like to continue working on the low-tone study that you commenced in lesson 2, to which was added the background and clothes in lesson 3. Equally, should you want to keep the work, why not just start afresh: Keep the underpainting simple, putting focus on the main forms and lights and darks, as you did previously. Block in the large surrounding forms/colours…and here comes the fun…adding colour!

Method

Adding colour onto an already formed image, whether fairly developed or rudimentary, is helpful in a couple of ways:

1. There is an image already there to guide you, so that you can focus more on colour than form and value – colour is a world unto itself and adding colour can now be accomplished without compromise.
2. The underpainting has already covered up the white of the canvas. There’s nothing wrong with white canvas (some schools of painters insisted on it) however, many painters find the white lightens and gives a less solid result – making the paintings look a little say, watercolourish.
3. The background tone “peeks through” the layers and this gives a consistent feel and also integrates the image.

I generally use the following approach:

1. I use a three-brush “system” that is, a medium/light paint brush, a darks brush and a brush for blending – perhaps with some added medium.
2. Work light over light, dark over dark. Remember, you have already formed an image, so use this to guide you and the trick is to not entirely cover it up. It’s not a bad idea to take a photo prior to starting this phase. The only mistake is to add one tone over everything – what you end up with is a face mask and on top of that, you will have lost all of your darks.
3. I start the same way, regardless of whether I’m looking to be realistic or expressive. The difference is in the vibrancy of colour and degree of blending.
4. At this stage, I tend to paint around the features, so that the forms are still there. This can leave the portrait looking a bit “Goth-ish” however I’m A-OK with this…fun with the features comes next!
5. I build the colour into mid-tones and darks first, in that order, leaving highlights for later. As such, the painting might look a little gloomy, perhaps as if the lights were dimmed – you then get to turn the lights back on towards the end. This can give a real thrill as the lights are applied. Talk about deferred gratification!
6. My approach to skin and tones is as simple as I can make it, so that I can concentrate on painting rather than all the colours that I should be using.
7. One “trick” that I often use in the heat of the process is that I make any changes with whatever brush is to hand, almost regardless of tone or colour. This randomness does not always work, however when it does it can be spectacular. If not, try something else!
8. Finally, my mantra is “always be painting” meaning that regardless of the specific process, I am looking for effects to improve the painting, often seeing details to adjust and paint effects that I like and so I will make any changes as I go: not strictly following the plan.

Exercise

• Following the general process above, add colour onto your low-tone underpainting. By all means evolve the image as you go, however be mindful of the power of lights and darks and also placement of forms and features.