Monochromatic Portrait:
Inspired by Helen Keller
Are you ready to be challenged by painting a portrait using only gray, white, and sepia? It can be scary to paint using subdued colors, but learning about placement of these monochromatic colors can give your artwork dramatic and captivating features.
What is Monochromatic?
Having or consisting of one color or hue.
In this class our main color will be gray.
What will you learn?
Using charcoal, you will lean how to draw proportions of a female face. (If you are new at drawing faces, a template is provided.)
Using acrylic paint, you will learn how to paint with a limited monochromatic palette and the primary color of gray.
You will learn how to create tints and tones (shades) just by adding white or a dark paint.
By strategic placement of your lights and darks, you will learn how to create drama in your portrait.
You will build up texture and movement by learning how to apply loose brush strokes.
Why did Helen Keller inspire this class?
I have always been drawn to the historic female figure, Helen Keller. As a young girl, I remember seeing the movie about her life. I was inspired that she overcame what seemed impossible.
Helen was deaf, mute, and blind in her younger years. But with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, she became a voice for the disabled and women around the world.
Course Objective
At the end of this class, you will have learned how to be a storyteller based on the subtle details that you’ve added to your art.
Your decisions of when to add or not add color.
Your choices of enhancements: The circle over one eye to represent vision. The cheese cloth over the lips to convey unspoken words. The unkept hair that shouts the struggle of self image.
And focusing on the eyes, your final painting will show confidence and vulnerability.
