At this time of year, inspired by shop windows, ornaments, and even my Christmas mug, I want to paint with red. So I pulled out my Dr. Ph. Martin’s paints again and picked from the crimson end of the spectrum.  Looking at a sketch completed at a previous live model session, I drew the face using a dropper. Painting with the dropper is akin to sketching with a stick. It is a little dangerous, but the results can be fun and unexpected. After drawing the head and shoulders, i brushed in some clear water to spread the red paint over the model’s hair and clothes.  Then I added some ultramarine blue watercolor paint for a background to highlight the face. This produced some counter-change (dark against light and light against dark ) in the head and neck. Lastly I used a small brush to add a little raw sienna for shadows on the face.

This makes me want to paint a series using the color red!

KC