Burnt Umber Arts

Oil Painting Portrait – Part 1

Part 1 – The Underpainting

Portrait painting is difficult for me because it’s so specific. If the features aren’t just right it’ll end up looking like someone else. I haven’t painted very many portraits yet so I’m doing what I can to make it easier on myself. With that in mind, I’m starting this portrait with a detailed underpainting. The underpainting allows me to work out any kinks before I move on.

 

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A previous version of this painting can be seen at the end of the May Update post. Since that post I’ve worked on changing the features for a better likeness.

 

Making the Underpainting

I used turpentine and raw umber to create this sketch. The underpainting needs to be dry before it can be painted over it so it doesn’t mix with the paint layered on top. Mixing turpentine with a dry paint like raw umber makes for a quick drying layer by oil paint standards. I really like the look of it too. It almost looks like a watercolor.

I don’t like using turpentine because it’s toxic. However,  I really like using it for sketching and cleaning. While painting I try to be conscious of having good ventilation and avoiding skin contact while working with it.

Read more about this painting and see how it has progressed:

Oil Painting Portrait – Part 2

Oil Painting Portrait – Part 3

Oil Painting Portrait – Part 4

Oil Painting Portrait – Part 5

Oil Painting Portrait – Part 6

 

 

 

9 responses to “Oil Painting Portrait – Part 1”

  1. fruitfuldark Avatar
    fruitfuldark

    Beautiful image that draws me in and makes me see into the child’s innocence. Raw Umber heh? Not Burnt Umber?

    Reply
    1. mulambo28 Avatar
      mulambo28

      Haha if only! I tend to fall back on my training when I don’t feel like know what I’m doing and training called for raw not burnt. 🙂

      Reply
  2. vickihutchinsartist Avatar
    vickihutchinsartist

    I love the under painting stage, and I love this portrait! I often use umber to sketch things in too, sometimes do a grisaille. I try very hard to avoid toxic chemicals (so many allergies), so I use Zest -it – have you tried it? It’s non toxic. I use it in place of turps for thinning the first layer and cleaning brushes. And it smells lovely! It’s made using citrus.

    Reply
    1. mulambo28 Avatar
      mulambo28

      Thank you! I haven’t heard of Zest-it, but I looked it up and it doesn’t appear to be available in the US. I’ll have to look around for an alternative.

      Reply
      1. vickihutchinsartist Avatar
        vickihutchinsartist

        Oh no! That’s a real shame.

        Reply
  3. Inese Poga Art plus Life Avatar
    Inese Poga Art plus Life

    This is a very good underpainting. Whenever I am looking at great oil paintings I so much regret I cannot do them, I mean I became unable to use oils some 20 years ago because of extreme sensitivity I developed. Sensitivity is a tough thing while it sounds like nothing special.
    So, yes, you are very lucky being able to create beautiful paintings and use oils for that. There isn’t simply any better medium.

    Reply
    1. mulambo28 Avatar
      mulambo28

      Thank you. It’s very unfortunate that you have a sensitivity to oils and cannot use them. I can’t imagine myself using a medium other than oil.

      Reply
  4. Oil Painting Portrait – Part 2 | Burnt Umber Arts

    […] You can see previous versions of this painting here and here. […]

    Reply
  5. Oil Painting Portrait – Part 3 | Burnt Umber Arts

    […] It’s so nice having a second set of eyes I can trust to be brutally honest. Check out  Part 1 and  Part 2 to see the progress of this […]

    Reply

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