Painting A Lady In Red In Oil Colours

In today's blog I once again use palette knives and oil colours when I paint a Lady in Red. I lay down blotches of paint to develop the picture and only use a brush to sign my name with. The facial features, though almost imperceptible, are done in scgraffitto.

I start today's project on a masonite board measuring 91 cm x 38,5 cm.

I prepare the surface by painting the board with Dala Acrylic Gesso.

I then paint the whole surface a bright yellow, using acrylic paint to speed up the drying time. As, at least some of the colours I will be working with, will be transparent, or semi-transparent, this bright yellow undertone, will give my painting an energetic and warm feel.

I then use a charcoal stick to draw my design on the dry paint.

I still have a little paint left on my palette from the previous project. I decide that using this on my canvas will actually contribute positively to the outcome and so I start by adding blotches of these colours to the background.

I will blend these in later.

With my palette clean, I can now start adding the colours I wish to use.

I start with a bright red. I will use the round-tipped palette knife for most of today's painting.

The essence of the figure is painted in red.

I now opt for a reddish brown.

I paint the shaded are of the background in this colour.

A bright yellow will go in the lighted areas.

I continue to fill in the background.

I now desperately need to strat adding cooler touches to the painting.

Blue is added to the painting, with blotches added to the top as well.

I choose a warm green for the final colour in the background.

Note how I keep repeating the colours on the top and bottom, left and right, even if it is only in blotches.

I now need to develop the shadows and shaded areas of the figure to add definition to the painting. I opt for a different palette knife at this stage.

The shadows are painted in. I also finish the clutch bag in her hand.

The skin tone will be further developed by adding Raw Sienna to the flesh tones left over from the previous palette.

I simply add blotches of the Raw Sienna to the skin.

Instead of painting the facial features, I switch palette knives once again and simply scratch into the wet paint to create the illusion of features.

I then simply need to sign my name before the painting is done.

After a couple of days, I returned to this painting and decided that I did not like my choice of colours for the background. As a result, I decided to change it. I would swap the reddish brown for a deep purple. I started with  pure white to cover most of the brown with.

Do not paint solidly over everything. Also, remember the principle of fat over lean. If you paint thinly over thick paint, the top layer will dry too quickly, causing cracks to appear. Keep your layers thick and fat.

I then moved on to the purple I wanted to use.

This time, the finished result held more appeal for me.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
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