Watercolour Portrait Artist and Tutor

This portrait is taken from a photograph of a good friend. When I saw the photo I was struck by the fact that, while a perfectly clear and accurate record of my friend’s features, it did not show the intelligence, warmth and wit which are integral to her beauty. My challenge as an artist is to rectify this. There are two unusual aspects of the photo which I like and decide to incorporate in the painting: firstly it was taken against a background of very dark and overhanging greenery. As well as adding an air of depth and seriousness this also makes a wonderful contrast with Susie’s blonde hair and pale colouring. The second aspect is the way Susie was placed to one side of the frame. This composition seems very pleasing and far more eye-catching than the usual central position.
	The first stage is to make a simple pencil outline, marking in the overall shape of the head and rough position of the features. I then reserve the outline of the hair and also the highlights on the eyes and lips with masking fluid. Susie’s hair is so blonde it is essential this is preserved at this stage.
The drawing looks absolutely fine to me and I am happy with it and this is what makes the next stage so very important: I walk away from the portrait and forget about it for an hour. It is almost impossible to view a piece you are actively working on in an objective and critical manner. When I come back I immediately see that the eyes are much too far apart. You will see this has been corrected in the next stage.
	I start work on the background as I am anxious to be able to remove the masking fluid as quickly as possible before it damages the paper. Using a #10 round brush I wet the whole area and then apply a loose wash of Hookers Green. I drop in patches of Lamp Black. I very rarely use black but the moody intensity I want to create in the background calls for it. While the paint is still wet I scatter over crystals of rock salt; this creates wonderful random organic shapes. When the paint is still very slightly damp I brush off the salt, deliberately smearing the paint while doing so. (A crisper effect can be obtained by letting the salt and paint dry completely for several hours). I then use random mixes of the Hookers Green and Lamp Black to paint over vague leaf shapes, both positive and negative. I could easily get carried away with this but stop here and might add some more at a later stage when I can see the balance of the painting more clearly. Note that I drag some of the background colour over the shoulders. This will help avoid the figure looking like a stuck on cut-out. Using a #8 round brush I start work on the flesh with a loose wash of Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow Pale, starting quite dark on the forehead and then dragging it down over the face. This can look alarmingly orange at first but with practice you will know how much you can expect it to fade and lighten. I add more colour to the darker areas and use clean water and a piece of paper towel to lift out colour on the cheeks, central forehead and nose. Susie’s complexion is very much an English Rose with pink tones so I drop in small amounts of Alizarin Crimson on the forehead and around the jawline. I very deliberately do not over-blend the paint as my style is to have visible patches of distinct colour and I am pleased to see these are already appearing around the mouth and neck.
Using #6 and #8 round brushes I build up more patches of colour on the face using the Cadmium Red/Cadmium Yellow Pale mix as well as Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna and Cerulean Blue. Note how these overlap and, most importantly, how patches of colour cross ‘boundaries’. Painting a portrait is not a ‘colouring in’ exercise and we are not cartoon drawings defined by outlines.
	Now I tackle the eyes, still overlapping small patches of colour. I do not use anything smaller than a #6 brush, even for the most detailed areas. A good quality brush that comes to a fine point is much better than a small brush. In addition to the colours already used, I introduce Cobalt Blue, Burnt Umber and Winsor Violet. The eyelashes and darkest parts of the iris are a mix of Cobalt Blue and Burnt Umber and I am careful to paint these together. Note also that the ‘whites’ of the eyes are anything but; the whites carry touches of blue and pink. As a general rule, the younger the subject the bluer the whites of their eyes. A small baby’s eyes are really very blue indeed.
The face is now very nearly complete. The lips are painted with Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson with touches of Cobalt Blue. Note the way the colour overlaps with the skin tones, especially around the corners of the mouth. It is still clear that Susie is wearing beautifully applied lipstick, but painting on defined edges would look unnatural and unrealistic. A pale suggestion of Lemon Yellow and Cadmium Yellow Pale is washed over the hair, with small amounts of Raw Sienna dropped in to begin to suggest shadows. A tiny amount of Hookers Green is incorporated to tie the figure in with the background. This is now left to dry throroughly before any more detail is added to the hair. I return to the eyes where the highlights are not quite right. I scrape away a tiny amount of paper with a sharp craft knife and adjust the pupils with some more Burnt Umber and Cobalt Blue. Susie’s checked jacket is loosely suggested with a mix of Burnt Umber, Cobalt Blue and Burnt Sienna.
	The hair is completed using Raw Sienna and the same colours that have already been used in the flesh: Burnt Sienna, Cerulean Blue, Alizarin Crimson and Winsor Violet. This keeps continuity and avoids the hair looking like a wig or pasted on. Winsor Violet is used to paint the shadows cast on the skin by Susie’s fringe. More vague leaf shapes are added to the background and these are allowed to drift over the shoulders to pull the different parts of the painting together. A little pure black is dropped into the lower right area to balance the upper left background. Using the sharp knife I scratch a few fine lines to soften the ends of the hair. Finished! You can see a larger version of the finished piece by clicking on the image on the left. Jane holds one-day watercolour workshops where you can learn more about these techniques. For details please visit the workshops page. Subscribe to newsletter

Watercolour Portrait Materials: Arches cold pressed 140lb paper, Winsor & Newton Artist Quality watercolours, SAA masking fluid

Watercolour Portrait
Materials: Arches cold pressed 140lb paper, Winsor & Newton Artist Quality watercolours, SAA masking fluid