Portrait of Nicole

The glazing technique excites me more each day. When I return to plein air painting in the fall, I am fairly certain that I will begin with a quick drying underpainting in acrylic. Glazing over underpaintings allows me to easily keep colors clean and lively.

Though the flesh tones in the portrait of Nicole are a bit pasty, I don't think there will be a problem in adjusting them to more pleasing tones. The turquoise underpainting of the hair masses has worked well with the glaze of red. Nicole adjusted her natural brown hair color to this fabulous red hue many years ago and I think it suits her perfectly.

The painting will dry for a week before I go back into it with another layer of glazes. At that point I will focus on developing the form around the nose, eyes and mouth. I will also paint in the basic forms of the necklace. Most likely, the final glaze will highlight areas of the hair, make final adjustments to facial features and add loose but careful definition to the necklace.

Image: Portrait of Nicole, oil on masonite panel

Link to Page on Website featuring progress of portrait paintings