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The art of portrait painting in oil colours
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The art of portrait painting
in oil colours
This informative book on portrait painting has been preserved for generations and fully deserves to to be available to all portrait artists online. While the art of portraiture has moved on, much of what was written is still valid and relevant to the modern day portrait painter.
Back to The Art of Portrait Painting
THE HAIR
There is little difficulty in laying the dead colouring of the hair. If the colour be fair-a light brown, for instance-the lights will be warm, and it would be well to lay them with a tint heightened by Naples Yellow, brought up to the highest tints by a little White. The shades and hues of light hair are of great diversity; we find them sometimes flaxen and rather cold than warm, especially in the lights ; but when the hair is darker, and of a light auburn or chestnut colour, it will be necessary to paint the lights with a strong tint of Yellow.
In painting black or very dark brown hair, almost any of the deep warm colours may be used with Black. The reflections of hair of this colour are cold, and graduate in a ratio inverse to the depth of tone in the shades, until from the most intensely black hair we find cast the most brilliant and coldest reflection, the effect being enhanced by the blackness of the hair.
In the first painting of the hair little more can be done than to rub in the forms and markings as nearly as possible to the dispositions intended to be maintained.
About John Paynemore about John John Payne
I've been a professional portrait artist for the last 12 years but have been painting for a lot longer . I started out by painting nothing but seascapes and still do the odd one from time to time , I then moved onto landscapes and wildlife paintings before I finally decided to concentrate on portraits.
I get commissioned to paint a lot of pets , mainly dogs - but I also get to paint a fair amount of portraits of people.
