[Woodcarver] more flesh tones

[Classic Carving Patterns]

Hi Merrilee,

The color listings apply whether you are using watercolors, oils, or
acrylics and even colored pencils and pastels.  Paint manufacturers work
very hard to adhere to a color chip standard for each color tone no
matter what media the color is created in.  So if burnt umber acrylic
and burnt umber oil paint are placed side by side on a palette you
should not see any difference in color between the two.

Jim asked for an oil listing.  I use oils when I need absolute control
over blending color tones and when I want colors that are
semi-transparent to transparent.  

Control: Since oils do take several days to dry you have plenty of time
to mix a new color on your palette and then blend that color into one
that you have already applied.  So for Jim's skin tone colors this means
I can apply a base coat of the skin tone in oils to the entire face.  I
can now add some white to the mix to make a highlighting color that I
would use over the bridge of the nose, forehead, and along the tops of
the cheek bones.  Since they are oils this new color does not go on as a
brush stroke but blends into the base skin color.  I could next add some
burnt umber to the base coat to darken it slightly and brush along the
sides of the nose, in the eye lid areas, and along the jaw line ...
Again it will instantly blend to create shadows.  So lots of color but
very few brush strokes.  When I add the cheek blush of orange I have
added my fourth color to the face.

Semi-Transparent or Transparent: Oils can also be used over a carving
that has already been stained.  You can stain the piece with burnt umber
first, allow it to dry then add a coat of polyurethane spray.  Over the
spray you can brush oil paints that have been thinned with a mixture of
turpentine and stand oil (linseed oil).  This thinned oil color lets all
of the stain work show through but gives a coloring over top.  When oils
are used directly over the wood you will be able to still see some of
the grain lines of the wood through the color.

For oil paint clean up I prefer to use freezer paper as my palette.
It's cheap and it's disposable!  Plus if I don't finish the painting in
one day I can pull off another piece and lay that right on top of the
palette piece.  This keeps the oils fresh until the next day when I peel
the two papers apart.  Use a palette knife to pick up any from the top
paper, put it back on the palette paper and start into painting.  So the
only thing left is that I wash my brush in turp instead of water as I
would with acrylics.

I also use a lot of acrylics.  They are great for how fast they dry and
are ready for your sealer.  Plus if you use a wet on wet technique ...
Which just means that you work fast when blending so that the base coat
is still wet when you add the highlights or shadow colors ... You can
get a very similar blending effect as oils.  You can get a
semi-transparent effect with acrylics by thinning them with water
dramatically, however it is never as clear as oils.  The biggest
advantage that acrylics have in painting is when you want an opaque
effect ... Solid, strong color.  Santa Clauses are perfect examples of a
carving that I would go directly to acrylics!  I want Santa's suit red,
no streaks, no thin areas, just good strong red!

Ok ... While I am on my teaching soap box :)

Opaque = solid color, you can not see through to the wood below. A
painted wall is opaque in that you can not see beyond the wall.

Transparent = color that you can see through clearly as a piece of
colored cellophane that they put over Easter Baskets where you can see
the pink cellophane but also see the chocolate bunny in the basket.  A
colored wine glass where you can see the liquid.

Semi-Transparent = a piece of frosted or textured glass in a stain glass
window where you can see the sunshine coming through the glass or the
shadows of moving people outside but can not actual see the shape of the
people

Hope this helped!

Susan Irish



Fine Art Dog Prints
Dog Art At It's Finest!
http://www.MuttArt.com
http://www.FineDogArt.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net
[mailto:woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net] On Behalf Of Merrilee
Johnson
Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 2:37 PM
To: woodcarver at six.pairlist.net
Subject: RE: [Woodcarver] more flesh tones


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Hi Susan!
   Jim asked for flesh tone using oil paint - do the suggestion you gave
him 
convert to acrylic any?  And what are the advantages to using oil?  Its 
harder to clean up so I have stayed away from it pretty much.  Thanks
for 
the additional information!
Merrilee


>>For light peach colored skin try a mixture of:

>Titanium White

>Cadmium Yellow

>Madder Brown (this is a deep off tone red)

>Use Raw Umber for the shadow tones.

>

>For a light brown or coffee colored skin use:

>Titanium White

>Yellow Ochre

>Burnt Sienna

>Use a mix of Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber for the shadow tones.

>

>For a chocolate colored skin tone try:

>Titanium White

>Burnt Sienna

>Burnt Umber

>Use Burnt Umber for the shadow tones.

>

>All three skin color mixes use an orange hue for the blushing.  If I am

>working in acrylics I do the painting first, then add the oil stain.

>Once the oil stain is dry mix some cadmium yellow and cadmium red oil

>paint to create a nice bright orange.   Pick up a little on a clean

>cloth then blot that cloth very very well on a towel so there is very

>little color left in the cloth.  Now pat that cloth where you want the

>blush ... cheeks, tip of nose, and top of the chin.  The patting means

>you will have no brush strokes and since it's done in oil colors the

>acrylic and staining work shows through the blush.

>

>Hope this helps.

>

>Susan Irish

>Carving Patterns Online

>Designs Online Since 1997!

>Classic Carving Patterns By L.S.Irish

>http://www.CarvingPatterns.com <http://www.carvingpatterns.com/>

>http://www.WoodCarvingPatterns.com

<http://www.woodcarvingpatterns.com/>

>

>


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