141-Faces in Watercolor
In Person | Available
Learn to draw and paint a face in watercolor. You may call it a portrait but we won’t pressure ourselves about creating an exact likeness. We’ll warm up with sketches of faces at different angles to help understand the three-dimensional structure and proportions of a generic face. Working from your own photos, you’ll learn the process from sketch to final drawing on watercolor paper to painting. I will discuss how you can use just a few pigments to achieve a range of skin tones. This will be a good opportunity to transform a monochrome portrait of an ancestor into a full color painting.
Bring a photo portrait or two as reference. Old black & white photo portraits are preferable.
• 140 lb hot press Arches WATERCOLOR PAPER, cut or torn to convenient size pieces (11 x 15 or smaller) or a 9 x 12” hot press block
• Tracing paper pad, about 9 x 12”. I recommend Canson (don’t get the Blick brand).
• nos. 8, 10, and 12 round NATURAL BRISTLE BRUSH (or nat’l bristle with a touch of synthetic) My current favorites are Silver Black Velvet rounds. Synthetic brushes by Princeton, Escoda or Lowe Cornell are also good.
• Soft pencil and a hard pencil. Also a kneaded eraser.
Winsor & Newton, Sennilier, Holbein, and Daniel Smith are excellent paints. If you’re new to watercolor, buy Cotman, the student grade of Winsor & Newton.
COLORS (IN TUBES)
Aureolin or Hansa Yellow
Light Quinacridone Gold or New Gamboge or Transparent Yellow
Burnt Sienna
Cadmium Red or Winsor Red or Pyrole
Quinacridone Rose or Permanent Rose
Alizarin Crimson
Violet or Mineral Violet
Ultramarine Blue
Cerulean or Cobalt Turquoise Light
Cobalt
Winsor (or phthalo) Blue
Neutral Tint or Black
• Palette for your paint.
• Mixing tray. Small butcher trays are ideal. Porcelain dishes are great too.
• Spray atomizer
I order my art supplies from Dick Blick online.
Doris Ettlinger
A graduate of RISD and the University of Wisconsin - Madison; teacher/coach of the Musconetcong Watercolor Group in Hampton NJ. She has illustrated 40 picture books for children. Her books feature a sensitive drawing style and skillful watercolor technique. Doris's work has been included in the 2024 International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society.
Please visit: www.dorisettlinger.com to link to her social media, YouTube and Etsy shop.