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Hi Michael, y
Yes, I agree that there are parts that look flatter than others. I'm not totally pleased with the background and the hair. I will muster up the courage to paint on it again when it's completely dry. When one has something worth saving on the canvas, it's always scary to put more paint on it, lest you ruin what you already have.
I have been struggling with color for a very long time. I have found, through studying the work of Velasquez, Zorn, Degas, Cassatt,Klimt, and other painters of long ago, that my work comes together better if I stick to a palette that contains only earth red (like red ochre or terra rosa), earth yellows (like yellow ochre, raw sienna, lemon ochre, etc.), umbers (like burnt umber, raw umber, turkey umber) and black. I am also using Holbeins foundation greenish and foundation umber. Plus one of the best colors I have found for mixing is unbleached titanium. It's very warm and very opaque. Many of those colors that I just mentioned are convenience colors. I could actually mix them using just red, yellow, black, and white.
In this particular painting the warm areas of the shirt are burnt umber (pink) and the cool areas are foundation greenish (turkey umber or green). In this warm palette black will appear to be bluish, and is used as my blue. Black + yellow will make green. Black + red will make purple. It's an illusion, but it works well.
Green ochre (yellow green) is also permitted with this palette, if you need it for something.
Michael, I did not realize that you were Verdaccio. I had to go back and look at the thread. I have enough trouble keeping names straight in the real world. In this world everyone has at least two names. I get confused.
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