A Helping Hand: Portrait in Watercolour

 

 "Child's hand in Watercolour"

No preliminary sketch

 Following on from my recent portrait posts on my blog I remembered how many times I have been asked on my workshops for good colour combinations to use for achieving skin tones in watercolour.

The above child's hand has been painted minus the use of a preliminary sketch and I feel it has far more life in it than the painting I previously shared that had been sketched before hand. Here the colour alone had to bring my subject to life and there were no pencil lines guiding me. I painted what I felt. Which was the soft skin of a child, minus wrinkles of old age. Also the skin hasn't been in the sun recently so it is pale in tone.

The colours I used are Alizarin Crimson and Yellow Ochre, in a heavily diluted wash.

Below is the first wash stage of my portrait minus a preliminary sketch. It is now easier for me to work as I have no strict lines to paint within. But of course it takes longer as I have to think at each stage of adding new brushwork. I need to focus my mind and concentrate on where the facial features need to be placed but it is also far easier to consider what details can be left out. 

I am loving this! And loving sharing with you.

Portrait of a child, first wash stage.

No sketch.

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