Painting Portrait Features

This week we will concentrate on painting portrait features such as eyes, ears, and mouth.

These features give your painting a finished look even if the overall portrait is painted in a spontaneous manner:



The Ear

The ear can be described as having the shape of the letter "C" with an "S" shape forming the interior of the ear. The two letters face in opposite directions from one another. On the left side the "C" faces backward and the "S" faces in the normal direction while on the right side the "C" faces in the normal direction and the "S" appears to face backwards:

New York Times Anatomy Image of the Ear:

After making the initial "C" and "S" shapes, look for the halftones needed to make the ear appear more natural:


The Eye




To paint the eye, begin by painting a shape that approximates the eye socket with a number six grey or sienna. Paint the iris by twirling the brush using ivory black or a very dark sienna (sienna plus ultra blue). Tone the eyeball area between the lids in a graduated fashion to make the eye ball look round. Paint the heavy dark crease above the upper lid. Paint the lower lid from the corner of the eye down and around to the tear duct corner of the eye (closer to the nose) and paint a a dark dab in the corner. Paint the upper lid using a number 3 value. Slightly cover the black circle of the iris.