The Painting Process

To start, I primed an 18"X18"canvas using Gesso and a tiny bit of black to give it a very light grey ground. I then waited for it to dry.

I then started a detailed drawing of an African women by first drawing out the image dealing with  the proportion and tonal values.

Next I began blocking in the major darks by mixing black and white until I got the desired tone.(Adding white to black gradually lightens the black). I then began using a slightly small brush for the fine lines such as the eyelids, and locks. This completes the underpainting.

At this stage, I began adding color. Now that the drawing and range of tones have been delivered, I can now focus my attention to color. Starting with the background, I mixed cobalt blue and cadmium yellow with white to get the light green. I then mixed yellow and red with white to get the orange.

In this stage I mixed cobalt blue, red, and white to get purple.

For this step, I mixed orange and cobalt blue to get brown. I then glazed the brown color over the entire face using the paint thinly, allowing some of the black and white underpainting to show through.

For this step, I mixed cobalt blue and vermillion red with white to get a warmer purple. For this particular purple I added a little more red. I then used this purple to glaze over her locks, and the rope around her neck.(Applying the paint thin allows the black and white underpainting to show through and create a very special, luminous purple.)

For the final stage I am painting in the lights only. For the light in the face, I kept the brown that I glazed her face with, and added yellow to lighten it. For the purple in her locks, I added white to lighten it, and worked until I reached a level of satisfaction. I hope you enjoyed this demo, and use the knowledge to better your own work.