How to Paint Using the Flemish Method – How to Paint White Fabric with Folds

Art Lesson 48, Part 4

Discover How to Paint Using the Flemish Method

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How to Paint White Fabric with Folds

Margaret’s belt is partly made in underpainting. It has green color, and the best way to continue would be to glaze it over with green mix of oil paint. We use Sap Green with a bit of Phthalo Green and Yellow Ochre. The Liquin Original is used for the better transparency and the flow.

The red dress already has two glazed layers of red paint and looks almost complete in the red tone. Now we have to emphasize the deep shadows of the folds, that are painted on the top in very thin layers of the dark color. We use Raw Umbra with a little French Ultramarine to get a cold-brown color. Use a thin round or a small flat brush with soft hair to make the shadows of the folds.

It is not necessary to achieve the darkest color as required at the first try. Use several semi-transparent layers of glazing to darken the shadows gradually. Each layer has to be dry only then you can proceed to another one. Compare the tone of the shadows with surrounding tone of the dress to decide on the degree of the darkness.

The medieval headwear looks a bit strange nowadays as the fashion has moved so far ahead since that time. Margaret was the wife of a quite wealthy and famous fine artist and therefore we can assume that this garment was fashionable among the middle-upper class. The decoration is elaborate and will take some time to paint it in all the details.

We use a small round brush diluting the oil paint with Liquin Fine Details medium for the thin lines of the decoration. These lines will dry quite quickly, in a day or two.

When the decoration is made we glaze the shadows and the mid-tones on the top keeping the glazing layer transparent. So the whole decoration is visible through the top layers of glazing. This glazing method is carried out in several layers. Each layer has to be dry before applying the next one. Such a multi-layer glazing technique provides the brown color with the rich depth.