The Pre-Raphaelites were famous for their use of a technique called “wet-white” painting, in which the artist first paints the flesh areas of a figure white, then blends into and over the layer of white with transparent flesh tones. I’ve used this technique here on the Magician’s face; the photos show a progression of the stages, ending (in the fifth photo) with a flesh-coloured face that needed a little detail and reworking with white highlights and a touch of glazing, some Van Dyke Brown in dark areas and a tiny bit of Cadmium Red to bring a little colour to her lips and cheeks.
In examining the Pre-Raphaelites’ work in my books and in galleries I see some quite monochromatic rendering in the faces and hands that isn’t as developed as I would like, so I’ll probably add a couple more layers to the work to re-define some features of the face that I’m not entirely happy with.
Do you still have that painting of the red-headed girl with the frog?
Mike,
This looks pretty damn good. Don’t like your brushes if you are using real cadmium red. It leads to brain tumors and cancers. Yes, I use real cadmium red, and yes I like my brushes. Need I say more to convince you of the dangers?