How to paint with watercolor: PORTRAITS

I know you've been taught that painting a portrait in watercolor is a very difficult task. Let me tell you how I can make it easy to do.

Painting a portrait is no different than painting any other subject. All the same rules and techniques apply. All the same good thinking about shapes of light and shadow, color mixtures and their values.

A portrait is just a jigsaw puzzle of different sized shapes and colors.

Many times I paint with the drawing upside down in order to reduce emotional factors. All my watercolor portrait work is executed from my own photographs of the subject.

The photograph you select to paint from is the most crucial element of your work. The photograph must reveal not only great color, light, shadow and detail, it must also reveal something of the “character” of the subject.

A portrait painting should never look like an air-brushed flat face we see in a magazine photograph.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• All your painting gear.
• A selection of interesting as well as readable photographs.

1. 
   "Tom" W/C by Janice Edelman

   1. I enlarge the photo I’ve selected to paint from and then trace from it, if necessary, for accuracy. The drawing under a watercolor requires a light touch with a hard pencil, few eraser marks, no oil from your fingertips or hands on the paper. No creases or marks from your cat walking across the paper.
   The paper needs to be secured ( on all four sides) with masking tape to a support board.
   
   Once you have a pristine drawing, the actual painting requires a bold approach and a willingness to live with the results ( even the pencil marks) and not over paint them.

2. 2. I enlarge the photo I’ve selected to paint from and then trace from it, if necessary, for accuracy. The drawing under a watercolor requires a light touch with a hard pencil, few eraser marks, no oil from your fingertips or hands on the paper. No creases or marks from your cat walking across the paper.
   The paper needs to be secured ( on all four sides) with masking tape to a support board. Once you have a pristine drawing, the actual painting requires a bold approach and a willingness to live with the results ( even the pencil marks) and not over paint them.

3. 3. Often, I hold the photo and the drawing upside down, and paint the shapes upside down. The large, small and tiny shapes are all there for the looking. Working upside down reduces the emotional element and allows you just paint what you see and not worry about it. Just like a puzzle, the shapes will eventually all fit together and then surprise you with the results.

4. 
   "Leon" W/C by Janice Edelman

   4. Remember that paint is only paint and can never duplicate the reality of flesh. Colors, no matter how proficient you are at mixing, are only manufactured colors. The surface of paper is two dimensional, not three. And even after tracing a photo you might have someone tell you it doesn’t look like them. You will never please everyone and probably not even yourself unless you devote a good deal of time to painting portraits in watercolor. No more excuses, just paint.
   If you hate your results, you have only to throw out a piece of paper and begin again. However, before you toss your first effort away, just put it aside and look at it again later. Most times you’ll actually like your first effort better. The nature of watercolor is that it sort of “cooks” during the drying period and changes slightly. Colors appear 25% lighter than when you painted them. Some blending takes place. A quality of light appears like in no other medium. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad try after all?
   Happy painting!

Tips & Warnings

• Place a mat on the work before signing it. Artfully sign your work on the bottom left or bottom right above the mat. The framer will consider you a pro.
• For legibility, I sign with a pen. Use whatever tool and color that allows the viewer to be able to read your (not too large) signature.

[desertlife]

on 8/4/2008 Great article - it will really help.

[susanzzzzz]

on 8/2/2008 enlightening!!

[DUSTYMILLS]

on 8/2/2008 Very useful info....thanks you.