Color is where the magic happens when creating mixed-media portraits. Playing with color and mediums and discovering what happens as you combine, layer and experiment will propel you forward in your pursuit of portraits. By learning some of the basics of mixing portrait palettes using a variety of mediums, you will gain confidence to continue experimenting and playing on your own.
In this chapter I’ll share simple color combinations for mixing skin tones using paint, water-soluble crayon and PanPastels. We’ll explore adding mediums to the crayons and pastels to see how they react differently or become more stable. Using color wheels, we’ll mix tonal values and neutral colors; explore hue, tint, tone and shade; and make complementary colors play nicely with each other to extend your palette color choices.
The goal here is to stretch out of your skin-tone comfort zone! Experiment, play, try something unexpected. All is fair in the world of mixed-media art, and that applies to portraits, too. You’ll see sample color wheels and color slides on the following pages, but, by actually mixing and painting them yourself, you’ll gain the confidence that comes only with the hands-on knowledge of doing the work yourself. We’ll use the mixtures and mediums later in the projects chapter, so don’t skip over this important color play.
I recommend playing with color in a journal and taking notes as you go along. This will serve as a tool for future reference. I love to use the Strathmore Field Watercolor notebook for these studies. It includes plain paper for note taking and a nice, heavy watercolor paper to work the color palettes. It’s small enough (just fifteen pages) to use solely as a color workbook.
Admiration
by Pam Carriker
collage, acrylic and graphite on watercolor paper
12" × 9" (30cm × 23cm)