Painting noses; One-color portrait

Building a face by layering values in a one-color portrait

Doing a one-color (monochromatic) portrait helps you understand the features without worrying about "what color do I use?" or "warm or cool?". Below is a finished monochrome of my #2 daughter. I used burnt sienna throughout, and when I needed to darken the hues I used bits of French ultramarine and less water when burnt sienna would go no darker.

For this demo, I am using French ultramarine throughout because it can go from a very pale blue (when watered down) to a very dark value. 

First mask out any pure whites you want to save. I only masked the highlight in the eyes and a few things strands of hair and a small highlight on the tip of the nose.

When masking is dry, cover the entire face in a pale wash for the lightest values. If I feel confident enough, while the first value is damp, I create a slightly darker wash (by adding more paint to the puddle I've created), then paint over everything that is darker than the first wash. You should now have two values painted, but they should blend softly, no hard lines between the values. Dry the painting.

In this blue version,  you see where I wet the entire face and hat, then put a very diluted solution of paint for the lightest layer. Since it was still wet, I put in my second value in any place that would eventually get darker: under the hat, on the neck, around the eyes near the upper nose, under the chin, etc I was using the water to keep the edges very soft at this point. BUT IF your first layer is not damp all over, dry it first. Then wet the area and put in your second value anyplace that is darker than the first value.

I am using my 3-or-4 value from Notanizer to give a general idea of where to place the next values. BUT this does not mean this will only have 3 or 4 values. I also look for nuances in the black and white photo to make decisions.

Here is my next layer of value. 

Wet the painting again only in areas where you want to paint values darker than the first two. Large areas--under hat, around nose, chin, neck, etc--are wet in wet. Smaller areas--ear, iris, mouth, are on dry paper. Increase the darkness of your paint by adding more paint to your puddle, and again add darker paint to anything that is darker than the first two values. Dry the whole painting.

This next layer is completely on dry paper, as I'm dealing more with small spaces with some hard edges. I've painted in the mouth and eyes and some details and shadows on the hat. Dry again.

I've added another darker layer beneath the hat and some background. For this darker layer, I added some indigo to the French ultramarine mixture. Dry again.

I added some background. 

Finally, I reached a point where I can do some lifting and corrections. I removed all miskit, then lifted just beneath the eyebrow; on the cheek; on the lips; a little around the mouth; some softening around the nose. I'm not completely happy with the chin, but if I mess too much with it it will make a mess. Mostly it has been a process of adding one value layer over another, then sharpening some details. 

By the time you have 3 or 4 values, the spaces you paint will get smaller and smaller. You can switch to the wet on dry method, but you are always smoothing the edges to keep them soft. Examples of this would be around the nostrils, which gets pretty dark, but must be softened into the lip and cheek areas.

This is the most valuable skill for painting portraits: learning to keep the edges soft. When you need to soften edges that are still damp, apply the paint; then clean your brush, dab the water out of it, and use this to pull out the edges so they are softer. 

TIP ON MIXING YOUR PAINT:

FIRST put the amount of WATER you want to use on the palette well. Since you will be using the same color over and over, make plenty so you don't have to keep mixing it up.

Second, add the paint a little at a time until you have a very diluted mix. Test it on a scrap of paper to see if it is dark enough.

REMEMBER that this is wet in wet, so your color will be even lighter because you will be adding the paint to the wet paper.

When you have your first layer, then add a little more paint to the water mix to kick it up a value or two.TEST it on scrap paper to see if it is dark enough (or too dark). Adjust the paint to water ratio until you get the next value. Make sure there is enough to paint the space you need to cover so you don't have to keep dipping into the paint and remixing.

Painting Noses in Watercolor

Here is a short YouTube on painting a nose in watercolor:

https://www.google.com/search?q=painting+nose+in+watercolor&rlz=1CATRIY_enUS1088&oq=painting+nose+in+watercolor&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORigATIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRifBTIHCAUQIRifBdIBCTczMTRqMGoxNagCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vhid=lZHstyBTeucikM&vld=cid:9ec2fc96,vid:kYmNGO8C9jg,st:0&vssid=l

You can also refer to my blog of May 2017 for nose

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/7104778837003534086.

Painting eyes and beginning a value study

Preparing a drawing for a value study

The next step to doing a portrait is to do a value study. This has several advantages:

    1. You get practice softening edges and creating soft transitions with just one color.

    2. You get more familiar with the face.

Here is the picture I am going to demo.  First I printed off both a 3 value from Notanizer and a black and white photo. I will use both to help me find major shapes and more subtle shapes.

If you are not confident enough to draw the face on your own, do this:

ON THE B&W PHOTO, I used a fine point Sharpie to outline the important shapes: eyes, lips, nose, etc.

I made dotted lines where there will be gentle shading. I copied it onto regular paper and made adjustments where needed. (This prevents me from having to erase or make too many marks on my watercolor paper, thus damaging the paper.) The Sharpie will show up better on  a light box, and you won't accidentally trace shadows instead of correct shapes. When you are happy with your picture, trace it onto your watercolor paper.

When I am DRAWING my face instead of tracing, I draw a rough sketch on regular paper. I use tracing paper (transparent) and redraw just the lines I want. Only after I like the sketch do I transfer it to my watercolor paper.

Everybody has a scale they feel comfortable with drawing. You can draw your portrait on the scale you are comfortable with, then ENLARGE your final drawing to the size you want to paint.

Gently erase lines that seem too dark, leaving enough mark that you can see it. I like to roll a kneaded eraser over the entire picture, which picks up some of the loose graphite from the pencil.

I masked off the highlight in the eyes and a few strands of hair. Using a 1" flat brush, I wet the entire face. Then I put a pale wash of burnt sienna wet into wet over the entire face and some hair. I used a flat brush because the wash goes on smoother, and I can apply more paint at one time, avoiding getting back-runs. I dried that, then put in the next value on the face under the hat, chin, and neck. Notice that I covered the white of the eyes with a light value also. We'll continue this next week.

PAINTING EYES

Here is the blog from May, 2017 on how to draw and paint eyes. I really haven't changed how I do it in the past 8 years. 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/2620890659995623982

Here is a video on proportions of the face, including a few things about eyes we discussed: The face is about 5 eye widths wide and 7 eye widths long. the distance between eyes is an eye width; the side of the nose comes to the inside of the eye; the width of the mouth comes about at your pupils. And if you drew a line from your right nostril through your pupil, you could find where the arch of the brow is. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz3xK-8cF_E

Knowing general proportions of the face helps you to see what may be different about a face....a narrower nose, eyes closer together, etc.

GETTING A LIFTING BRUSH/ MAKING ONE

You will eventually need a stiff brush for lifting highlights. For faces, I generally use a Monarch #4

flat or filbert. They make "scrubbing" brushes, which cost about $5 for a pack of 3 different sizes. Those are stiffer bristle brushes, useful but not gentle. You can make your own by taking an old used brush. I wrap the bristles in tape, then cut them with a razor blade to make a shorter bristled, stiffer brush for lifting. You can also get inexpensive flat brushes that are nylon but a bit stiffer than your normal brush. I think they are by Simply Simmons.

A 6 min video on lifting: She used a regular brush, but it can be hard on my good brushes, so I use special ones for lifting dried paint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmbmEu0rC7Q