How to Paint a Self Portrait Using a Mirror – How to Paint Skin Tones of a Body

Art Lesson 49, Part 5

How to Paint a Self Portrait Using a Mirror

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How to Paint Skin Tones of a Body

In this part of the video lesson, we will show you the painting of the body and the clothes.

The window light is coming from the left side; therefore the right side is in shadow. We mix Titanium White, Naples Yellow and Olive Green, using the paint to evenly cover all dark parts of the arms. The Olive Green paint gives a pleasant opaque nuance to the shade.

The dress is painted with a mix of Raw Umber, Payne’s Gray and Titanium White. White pleasantly lightens the dark mix and makes the dress light gray.

We paint the dark folds in a freehand manner, using the same mix but without the White paint. Using the flesh color mix we are softening up the border between lighter and darker sides of the arm. We are also lightening the shadow parts: the lighter flesh paint mix is mixed with the still-wet paint in the shadows, creating a transitional mid-tone.