Strategies for Mixing Flesh Tones

"A Midvalue Mixture Based on Grumbacher Red Light"

Oil Paints on Glass Palette

   

I am experimenting with mixing flesh tones using Suzanne Brooker's strategy from her book, "Portrait Painting Atelier."

I decided to start with my usual red for flesh tones, Grumbacher Red Light.  

The center left shows the Red Light in its pure form, then lightened with a combination of Titanium White and Zinc White to create a medium value in the big pile in the center.  All subsequent mixtures are made from this center pile combined with other colors.

Directly to the right you can see Yellow Ochre Light in its pure form. Straight above the Ochre and to its left are the combinations of the Red Light pile and Ochre with varying amounts of white.

The bottom right corner combines the Red Light pile and Naples Yellow.

Bottom left combines the Red Light pile and Green Umber.

Top left is the Red Light pile plus Raw Umber. (Missing is the pure form of Raw Umber.)

I was disappointed that I didn't get a greater variety of midtones.  I decided the Naples Yellow combination was too orange, though the lightest mixture was lovely. And I would like to try the Green Umber using more green.

Next time I intend to try terra rosa in the center.

I Did It!

"Three Fruits"

Oil on Canvas, 6" sq., c. Catherine Vines

   

Better, at least. 

The orange - that is an orange - is more what I'm aiming for. Loose brushwork, less "coloring in the lines."

I made a funny connection: as a child I never enjoyed coloring books, and even now, I don't enjoy filling in an object from an outline. For this one, I "splashed" color in the general areas I was going to paint, and went on to refine dimension. 

Still trying Liquin.

"Life Is Either A Daring Adventure..."

"Orange"

Oil on canvas, 6" sq., c. Catherine Vines

   

"... or nothing at all." Helen Keller  

This is my daughter's favorite quote, and I feel as if I'm on an adventure lately

Today's fruit is a reworked painting, again using Liquin. I am not happy with how fussy the brushwork looks, but this may be the result of painting over an old canvas.

In fact, there are a lot of problems here: value range, color variation, background. So why am I showing it?

There's something there.

I'll keep hunting.

"Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This"

"Green Onion"

Oil on Canvas, 10x8," c. Catherine Vines

   

I've dropped, spilled, and touched up this painting until I lost sight of my original concept.

In general, I paint without medium, so this was an exploration for me. I used Liquin and I absolutely loved the painting the first day.

Today, when I went back in to touch up a few things... 

Nothing to do with the medium, more about thinking in a different way. I am accustomed  to adding touches of color at the end, and they turned glaringly obviously rather than a subtle highlight, necessitating more painting. 

So much for an ala prima painting!