Art Information Center

Portraits in general are certainly a challenge, but even more challenging than any other type of portrait painting is watercolor portraits. There are a few reasons that turn watercolor portraits into a greater challenge. First is the fact that watercolors are drying fast, so you cannot just take your time. Second is that once you put your brush with a color in the wrong place on the paper, it’s hard to make it disappear, especially if there was too much pigment on that brush.

Since watercolor portraits require a lot of skills, I would suggest you first get some practice with easier objects before you start with portraits. Other important elements to help you with this task of painting watercolor portraits are very good quality of paper meant for watercolors as well as good brushes of different sizes, that get pointed when are wet.

Most watercolor artists use a light drawing of the major lines of the portrait before they start painting their watercolor portraits, I would suggest that you do it too. For drawing, you can use watercolor pencils that will blend with the rest of the colors as soon as you add water.

watercolor Portraits

Since you’re limited in time, it may be wise to prepare, just before starting your painting the right combination of pigments that will fit best the hair color and skin color of the faces depicted in your watercolor portraits.

Another important thing for watercolor portraits is the uniqueness of the eyes and the eyes area in the human face. This area of the face is darker and detailed, and therefore in terms of watercolor painting is more risky, at the same time it is the expressive part of the face. Therefore while painting your watercolor portraits pay special attention to this part, get the darker effect with patience and while playing with layers of different colors and the movement of the water.

The hair color, no matter what it may be, should be obtained by a mixture of different pigments. Changing the amount of any of the pigments in the combination, enables you to express the different ways in which the light falls on the hair and the hair’s movement in your watercolor portraits.

At last! You can draw or paint any subject with ease…. Even if you have never drawn or painted before!
Watercolor portraits!