Realistic Watercolor Portraiture

The first step in a good portrait is finding or taking a good photograph.  Download and print the handout called Taking Photograph Instructions.  It will guide you through either choosing a photograph to work from or taking one.  I am not a professional photographer so the information is pretty general, but necessary to move into the value study and obviously, as an important resource for you portrait  painting.  I do not provide you with my photograph.  I really want you to do this portrait from start to finish, which means you either have to know how to take a photo that works, or find one on that follows the suggestions in this section.

Next, the goal is to help you understand what values, or lights and darks, are in a photograph as well as a painting, and then create painted value charts that they will reference when painting their portrait.  Specifically, you will create a small painted sample of the lights and darks of each color grouping in their photograph, determining the paints they will use to create these lights and darks.  Doing this preliminary work before jumping into the painting alleviates the pressure of creating colors while completing the painting.

These resources are aids that will help you draw and paint the features of the face.  There is no photo of my face, the face I paint in the class, included in these resources because the class intention is for you to paint either yourself our another person who's photograph meets the photo criteria and who you are interested in painting.

The last step to do before starting the portrait is a study painting where you determine what colors and values (lights and darks) are appropriate for your the background of your portrait.  Do you want a dark background where the face is brightly lit on one side and dark on the other, dramatically fading into the background, or a light background with a slightly darker side on the shadow side and a softly lit side where the light comes into the painting?  These are big decisions that can really change the feeling of the painting, so spend some time exploring them in this preliminary painting step.

In this video lesson you will watch as Marilee sets up her painting space and begins painting the portrait.  The first steps include painting the wet-into-wet background and then completing the first layer of paint on all the other areas of the painting.  At the end of this video lesson all value 1's and 2's will be painted in the face, hair, shirt and the background will be completed. 

Watch each step and when Marilee stops to dry her painting, do the same step on your own painting.  Following along step by step keeps this daunting task under control.

Along with the video is a handout with the steps written down for you so you don't have to keep the video running to remember what is next.

This video lesson starts with the features of the face.  Join Marilee as she takes the first passes at painting the eyes, nose, mouth and then adding the value 3's and 4's in the hair.  Watch as the portrait quickly comes to life when the features are added and the hair gets a three dimensional quality when the dark shadows appear.

Make sure to keep your own portrait moving at the same pace or you will become overwhelmed with the work involved.  Take frequent breaks so that you are fresh and focused when painting.  Remember!  A watercolor can only get darker so don't let the painting get out of control, especially by going too dark!

In this third video, Marilee introduces the key to her smooth blended textures, a small, synthetic lifting brush.  Using this slightly damp brush, values are blended to create that photographic look.  Along with the lifting and smudging, facial features are finished and the skin has layers of value 3's and 4's added onto top of the previous layers.

Try this step on your own painting, but maybe practice a bit on your test sheet.  A brush that is too wet or that you smudge too much with will lift all of those layers you have painstakingly built up!  And getting them back is....impossible :-(

The final video lecture takes you through to the steps to do the finish refinement work on your painting.  Slightly adjusting the value's in the background to work with the values on your portrait to laying down washes over entire areas like the hair as the final value's on the face take shape.  It all becomes apparent in this final stage and leads to a painting you will be proud of!

Way to go!!!!!  You stuck with it and hopefully learned many new techniques and skills you can apply not only to your portrait work but to all your watercolor paintings in the future!