Menu
Menu
PUSHING COLOUR IN PORTRAITURE –
Tom Croft
Reference Image
Materials
Canvas or prepared surface
Oil paints
Selection of brushes (synthetic and hog hair)
Palette (ideally glass)
Find these items at cassart.co.uk
Starting with a Drawing
Begin with a pre-drawn outline of your subject. You can create this by free drawing but don’t be afraid to rely on a grid or even trace. It doesn’t matter as long as you have a drawing you’re happy with.
Setting Up Your Palette
Lay out your paint in long, slug-like sections. Avoid muddying your mixes by keeping pure colours separate before blending. Using a glass palette gives you the flexibility to match your canvas to whatever colour is underneath the glass. This way you’ll always know what your colour will look like on your canvas when mixing. Remember, your aim is to create a vibrant painting so you will need to choose vibrant paints!
Top Tip: Use an old picture frame glass for your palette
Mixing Colours & Controlling Saturation
To start mixing colours, identify the colour you need by describing it in words first e.g. that bit of skin is a sort of yellowy pink. It’ll help you to identify which paints to mix together. You need to build up to the bolder, brighter colours so at first use complementary colours to neutralize overly bright tones (e.g., add a touch of green to mute red).
Top Tip: Treat colour mixing like cooking—add a little at a time to maintain control over the final shade.
Blocking in Colour & Building Form
Now you’re ready to paint, start with the safe areas (e.g., a hat or background) before moving to detailed facial features. Establish broad tonal areas first, using desaturated colours to contrast with more vibrant later additions. Next, work on midtones and shadows before adding in highlights.
Pushing your colours
Once you’re happy with the larger tonal areas start pushing your colour palette—if the tone is correct, unexpected colours (like green highlights or red nostrils) will still look natural. Think about warm vs. cool tones: if shadows are warm, keep highlights cool, and vice versa.
Top Tip: If your palette gets messy, scrape and recycle excess paint to prime your next canvas
Brushwork & Texture
It’s great to use a mix of synthetic brushes for smooth application and hog hairbrushes for added texture. When mixing, experiment by only mixing your colours very briefly. One mark will still be a combination of the various pigments across the brush, and the colour will be more saturated. Don’t be tempted to then mix it on the canvas as you’ll lose the vivacity of the mark.
Top Tip: Be bold. Confident brush marks make for a stronger painting.
Adding Detail & Finishing Touches
Build up the paint in layers, gradually refining areas like eyes, eyebrows, and highlights. When you are working on the features, don’t paint what you think you can see, paint what you really can see. E.g. The whites of the eyes are unlikely to be white
Don’t be afraid to work in different parts of the painting at once. It may be that the red you have mixed for the nose is also perfect for the top of the forehead so make use of it.
Adjust facial features with small colour shifts rather than rigid outlines and soften edges where necessary, but don’t overwork—loose marks bring energy to the painting.
Top Tip: If you have shaky hands, use a ruler to anchor yourself
Final Steps: Background & Harmonization
Choose a background colour that enhances and makes sense of your subject’s colours. A contrasting or abstract background could unify the overall piece. Step back often to assess the whole composition rather than getting lost in details.
Top Tip: Experiment boldly! Colour is a safe space for creativity—amplify hues, push boundaries, and have fun.
