Portrait Workshop Day 2: Color

Our portraits came to life in the second day of our 2-day Portrait Painting Workshop. It was amazing to see these taleneted students learn how to mix their paint colors and apply them to the canvas.

I personally enjoy the second day of the workshop because I get to share the color recipes that have served me well for each of my portraits in the studio. I supplied each student with their own paint, but it was up to them to combine the colors themselves. I think this stage is also just a great warm up.

When I mix colors before a portrait commission, I get to relax and warm up. The nerves melt away while I focus on the colors transforming in front of me. I also feel more prepared because I have set myself up with a solid palette: a dark skin tone, two mid-tones, and a highlight.

One cool trick that you can see in the video above is that we divided our palette in half. I liked how it organized us into a left and a right space.

The left side of our palette served as our tool kit of colors. There, we had the paint from the tube (arranged from cool to warm) and we had the skin tones (all arranged from dark to light). The left side is what kept us grounded. We could always pull from the left side and find a cohesive color.

The right side, on the other hand, was our space to experiment. Yes the model’s cheek is light skin tone, but is it also warmer? Yes the model’s chin in shadow, but is it also cool? What colors can I add in these features to make the skin feel more alive but also keep it cohesive? There are no perfect answers, but the right side served as our place to guess and experiment while looking at the model.

Students in this workshop went out of their comfortzone, and came away with some strong portraits. They all felt proud of their work and were very excited to leave with their own finished painting.

The second day of the workshop is focused on color. The Alla Prima workshops I am running every saturday in March will also focus on color.

Instead of doing an underpainting beforehand, we will start what is called “direct painting.” We will mix our colors and then they go right onto the canvas. With a new model each class, this Alla Prima painting series is sure to be exciting.

Thanks to every student who made this calss possible!

I hope to have you join us in March. If you’re interested in joining, please click below: