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MIXED MEDIA PORTRAITURE – Amy Dury
Reference Image
Materials
Watercolour paper
Coloured inks
Coloured pencils
Wax candle
Sterilizing fluid
Soft mop brushes
Large wash brush
Kitchen paper
Syringe or dropper
Reference photo
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Sketching the Initial Portrait
Set up your workstation on a flat surface. You’ll be using quite a lot of water and working flat will prevent the mediums running. Begin by lightly sketching loose structural lines to position the head and features. Focus on the shapes and shadows around the features, mapping out the eye sockets and contours rather than individual details. Keep the initial marks soft and fluid, allowing room for adjustments.
Top Tip: When working with mixed media it might be nice to restrict your colour palette to maintain some sense of control e.g. just reds and greens
Using wax to create highlights
Experiment by using a wax candle to highlight key areas that should remain white. Rub wax to the brightest parts of the face, such as cheekbones, forehead, and highlights in the eyes. The wax will repel ink and maintain light areas without the need for masking fluid.
Mixing the ink
Using water-based inks will give you a really nice range of colour vibrancy (depending on how much water you add). Experiment by mixing contrasting colours to tone down hues e.g. a little bit of red added to a green will bring the saturation down. Test the inks on a plane piece of paper before applying it to the piece.
Top Tip: If you would like to dilute, add water a little bit at a time using a syringe.
Applying the ink
Starting with the cool shadow-y areas, use a soft mop brush to apply ink in broad washes, allowing colours to flow naturally. Dab with kitchen paper to lift excess ink and create organic textures.
Top Tip: Try using cool colours in the shadows and warm colours in the highlights for a harmonious image
Do the same with a warmer colour over the highlighted areas. Notice the ink will resit the paper in the areas where you applied the wax. Once you’ve covered the face introduce controlled ink washes for large areas like hair and clothing. Work in thin, fluid layers, gradually building intensity and use overlapping strokes to blend colours while maintaining depth.
Top Tip: To bring the drawing back into focus, use a smaller brush and apply a dark ink to the darkest bits of the face like the shadows around the eyes.
Adjusting with Sterilizing Fluid
To lighten areas or correct mistakes, you can apply sterilizing fluid (a safer bleach alternative). Use a fine brush to lift highlights targeting your brightest areas key areas such as eye lids, cheeks and chin. Use an old brush as the fluid might cause some damage. Once you’ve focused on these highlights you might want to go back in with darks to create some more contrast
Refining with Coloured Pencils
Once the ink is dry (you could use a hair dryer), use some coloured pencils to sharpen details and bring everything back together. Employ a striped, directional technique for textured shading. Vary the line density using closer strokes for darker areas and wider spacing for lighter tones.
Top Tip: Swirly lines can indicate curls in a hair without the need to draw in every strand
Enhancing Contrast
Experiment using white oil pastels across the highlights and water-based pencils dipped in water across the shadowy areas to create even more contrast.
Top Tip: Finish your portrait by picking out the highlight in the eyes using your sterilising fluid