-by Eric Fortune

After my last post on using the right brush for the right job, I took my own advice and used a larger than average brush (not the broom) and applied washes to build up the background value and color. My concern of heavy granulation in areas that I want relatively smooth keeps me from using washes that are too thick. So of course I’m still doing many thinner washes but the application didn’t take as long. After getting some paint on the background I decided to jump into the main figure.

In this video some skin tones have already been laid down. But you can see the difference it makes to the flesh when I add in the warmer tones to the cheek area. It’s the nuanced color in the cheek, nose, knuckles, and ears etc that really give flesh a sense of having blood flowing through it and being alive. So of course be mindful of your photo reference, and when in doubt use a mirror… or Google images.

I have a detail of the painting to post but blogger is acting a little weird. At least it seems that way. If you’re reading this now I’ll try to upload the image again tomorrow.