Paxton vs. cads and shadow help please!

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Hello,

I have been working on my 'babysitter' portrait, which was posted in the photo reference section a while ago. My computer has since crashed so I no longer have it on file, but what I'm concerned about here is the COLOR of my shadows (not likeness).

I have been having trouble getting a good shadow color using the Paxton palette. I'll post a portrait I did of my son using cads, I am happy with the color of shadows using cads.

From all I've read on this forum about the Paxton palette, I don't understand why it's not working for me. It seems to be 'easier' for most people, and I do like the skin tones I get using that palette, it's just those darn shadows that I can not get.

I'll post two photos, in the first one her skin tones, especially the shadow side of her face was too brown. With the Paxton palette I think the light side of my face has more chroma in it than I used to have when I was using cads and this is good. If this is the case, I need to have my shadow side even darker to get that difference in values. So, the first one I felt was too brown. Then I decided to paint my shadows more grey, but that made the babysitter look like she had a five o'clock shadow.

On the second photo I've pulled some of the lighter values over into the shadow, I'm only putting shadow where the deepest shadows are. But the color is icky. I've used a lot of burnt sienna mixed with viridian, I get a decent looking neutral but it doesn't look like skin tones in shadow to me when I put it on the canvas.

So, can somebody help me please. I just can't seem to get a shadow color correct. Can it be just a darker skin tone? Does it need to be a brown, or grey? I have cool light so I'm going for warm shadows here.

The only thing I can think of to do next is to repaint the face lighter and then I'm thinking I won't have to get the shadows so dark to get the difference in values.

I've been adding 'layers' as I go and I think the last layer may have washed out some of the shadow on the side of her nose, for example.

I have repainted this face probably 4 times now and I'm about to throw the whole thing out the window! I hope somebody can give me a clue about how I should be painting the shadows.

thank you,

Joan

P.S. The third image will be of my son using cads which at this point I think his skin tones look better than the babysitters!