For many beginners, painting a portrait seems to be a very difficult procedure. But if it is explained in a few easy steps, everybody can become a portrait artist!

How you can achieve beautiful results in your first attempts to paint a portrait is explained in 4 short steps by our professional painting tutor Lucienne Frijns, who has been exhibiting in different countries with great success for many years. She has created this special concept to start a painting. Her students love it!

Step 1:

Use charcoal to draw. Before going into details, make a light sketch. If you are unsatisfied with the drawing, look through your eyelashes to discover the shadows. You will notice that the shadows have different tones. Apply them by using your charcoal flat and try to follow the movement of the muscles.

Step 2:

In the first layer we only paint the shadows. We don't paint the light parts! As many students are afraid to "lose" the beauty of the drawing, they start painting too carefully. This causes the painting to lose its spontaneity. To avoid that problem, we lay the canvas down and then use a lot of water for the first layer. Lose your fear and feel free!

Step 3:

After the first layer has dried, you can start painting. The right light is very important here. Start with the face and go from the darkest tone to the lightest while connecting each colour.

Step 4:

Connect your portrait with the background. Don't be afraid to try different colours. You will feel which colours your portrait needs in the background and you can easily change it.

To finish, I would like to share a little secret with you: add a drop of MAGENTA to each mixing and your painting will give light!

You want to learn more and improve your portrait painting skills? Don’t miss this opportunity to get some more great tips and tricks from Lucienne Frijns during her wonderful painting holiday in Andalusia: https://www.artistravel.eu/en/tour/2019/04/painting-holiday-in-andalusia

Visit Lucienne's website at https://www.lalucepaintings.com/de/ to see more of her works and products.