How to Paint

Difficulty: 4/5
Colours: Titanium white, phthalo blue, bright red, lemon yellow, mars black (just a bit!)
Brushes: Large brush (for background), flat brush, detail round brush

I’m not going to lie, this piece did require my full attention! Having a solid foundation (sketch) to work from was quite important, as the original has many elements around the subject (table, tablecloth, mirror, book, several curtains, chair, draped robe). There were two recurring ‘themes’ / visual hooks, I guess, that brought the piece together in the sketch – the arc and the straight line.

I found that layering darker to lighter tones in this piece worked well. Most of the colours were on the cooler/bluer side of the spectrum, like cooler reds, cooler greens; although the yellows remained quite warm (with a touch of red). The nude was a combination of many off-whites, mixed with touches of red, yellow, green, blue.