Q: I Recently saw some paintings by Deborah Deichler and
liked the results she gets through her glazing techniques with oil.
Since I have not been able to find a book written by her, can you
recommend a book or other teaching aid for that kind of work? At this
point my main interest is the human skin.
A: Painting
people is the same as painting any subject: When the light rests on a
subject it usually offers warm values while the shadows cast will
usually have cool values. If you take a look at a portrait by
Rembrandt, Vermeer, or any contemporary artist, you will see many
colors in the subject’s flesh regardless of whether he or she is fair-
or dark-skinned. These colors can be blue, green, vermillion, burnt
sienna, or many others. There are numerous books by portrait painters
that share the artists’ color palettes for skin tones, but for now you
can consider Rembrandt's classic palette for all skin colors: Titanium
White, cadmium yellow light, vermillion, alizarin crimson, cerulean
blue, ultramarine blue, ivory black, burnt sienna, and viridian.
--by Camille LaPointe-Lyons