Successful

Pastel Portrait
Painting
Secrets
Revealed At
Last!

Book I
A Thousand Words:
Your Definitive Source of Answers

by A. Landis Jones

Preface

Beginning when we were toddlers, almost daily our parents would give my brothers (Bruce L. & Brent M.) and me,
reams of paper upon which to draw. The three of us are stair-steps, so, of course, we would simultaneously teach each
other our meager skills as they developed. Whether that constitutes us as being self-taught artists is up for debate, but,
because of our daily practice sessions, drawing was never really that much of a problem for us way back then. Now,
may be a different story, though.

However, at the time, our parents (Earl K. Jones & Lonnette T. Jones) supplied us with a steady stream of drawing ma-
terials. Being so early in our lives, our art-based attention was focused so much so that when coloring tools were later
introduced, our drawing skills had a great head start. As a result, knowing what to confidently color people, places and
things began to be challenging for us.

Like most of you who are reading this eBook, my teenage years included self-imposed art projects. This caused me to
become more skilled merely by practicing regularly. After I grew into adulthood, I abandoned even the thought of art
and got settled on a career with a “real job.” Then it happened, the art bug bit me and my attention was turned to art
again. Art is not like riding a bicycle, for once you stop and let too much time lapse, you will notice that your so-called
talent no longer comes naturally for now you have to work at it. When that happened to me, I picked pastel portrait
painting as a discipline, and treated this "hobby" as a curiosity. That is, I began to wonder how things were accom-
plished, much like someone would want to know how magic tricks are performed and executed, despite the fact that
they have no interest in becoming magicians. The drawing part for me was still relatively easy, but the coloring magic
trick still haunted me.

I scratched my curiosity itch with book readings, watching "how-to" TV shows & viewing "how-to" videos, talking to
shopping mall and street artists, and having "happy accidents" with my painting experiments. These all jelled and
formed the knowledge database out of which these pages were crafted just for you.

I Wish I Had Known This When I Was A Teenager

All in all, it took me in the neighborhood of thirty years to piece together just the little bit of information I reveal to you,
here. Obviously, going to art school would have reduced that learning curve time considerably, but since I did not take
that route, then finding out the hard way was just about my only option. During my youth, I had never heard of such
things as art workshops, local art leagues or art magazines, and my parents did not wish for me to waste money on any
correspondence art courses. So, what I wound up doing many, many years later was visiting libraries and art stores, and
the like. Even so, and even with all the material there, nowhere had I seen flesh tone information all in one place. I
could not even find any mention as to any sort of flesh tone formula, despite the fact that I knew there must be such a
thing.

So that other curiosity seekers will not have to labor so hard for solutions, I present the following pages. On these
pages, I reveal some fascinating methods I have run across, from simple quickies to more complex and elaborate
routines. Like I said, I wish I had known this when I was a teenager.

I subtitled this eBook, Book I – A Thousand Words: Your Definitive Source of Answers because it is an art book with no
pictures. And, since “a picture is worth a thousand words” and this eBook has no pictures, then “a thousand words” will
have to be substituted for the non-picture aspect of the eBook. Hopefully, this art book with no pictures will be referred
to again and again by its readers. With this work there is sufficient information the reader can utilize to master the craft
of pastel portrait painting. However, realizing that there may be those readers who require more, I created a website,
which may showcase step-by-step artistic examples from its subscribers/readers --- in other words, an art book/website
with pictures. But, this sister eBook/website will be unique because it will showcase pictures and step-by-step actual
pastel paintings by YOU, the interactive reader. Hopefully, my future eBook, Book II – Your Definitive Source of An-
swers Fully Illustrated, or my website ...

http://www.pastelportraitsecrets.com

will be likewise referred to again and again by YOU its loyal audience.

My motive for writing it is not entirely altruistic, for I started writing it mainly after I learned about an online program
that shows one how to earn a living online by creating a website where you explain what it is you know, for everybody
knows something about something. For years I had made many meager attempts at writing an art book on my discover-
ies, however, my being introduced to this program was exactly the motivation I needed to get started in earnest.

I wrote the eBook you are now reading, lightning fast, writing one section at a time, because I already knew the material
well. To discover how I did it, and for you to do the same, yourself, in what you know how to do, just review my
webpage called Smiling Feels Good .

"Why am I not selling this eBook to you instead of giving it away online," you wonder? Well, originally, that was in-
deed my intention when I wrote this eBook in August, 2002. However, when I recalled how hard it was for me to gather
all of this information, I felt heartache at the thought of others going through the same trouble. So, I decided that anyone
who desires the information should have it for free.

If, however, you feel the information freely given has value and merit, and that it saves you time and energy (and of
course, all that would-be "trial and error"), then I would not object to free-will donations from you. Towards that end, I
created a donations page for that purpose.

PORTRAIT INTRODUCTION

In this pastel portrait introduction, we are letting you know that with the information freely given in this eBook you can
learn how to execute unlimited numbers of pastel portrait projects. The projects can range from being extremely easy
[in that they can be typically completed in about fifteen (15) minutes or so] to being slightly more challenging [in that
they can take up to thirty (30) minutes to perform] all the way up in difficulty level [in that the completion time in-
creases to around two (2) hours to days, or even a week or more] to finish. In each case, the subject matter (or model, if
you will) is any human depiction you choose, whether self-portraits or any other model physically there with you, or
whether from photographs, or whether from your imagination or from any random “chicken scratch” you display on
your pastel surface which you deem depicts a person.

The practice of painting self-portraits is good in that the model never gets tired of posing for you. They are also fun pro-
jects in that you probably do not get tired of admiring yourself in the mirror.

To develop your skills, it is advisable to focus your attention in each pastel portrait project to include as few variables as
possible in order for you not to be overwhelmed. In this pastel portrait introduction I am giving you some suggestions as
to what I mean by “variables.” They include whether the subject or models are men or women, young or old, Black or
White, blondes, brunettes, redheads, and, any other variables you find fascinating.

Chapter 1
Proportions of the Human Head

There are pastel artists who claim they never have any idea what colors they are going to use in a portrait sitting. I'm
glad that philosophy works for them, but I generally have a standard in my mind for any aspect of art. Just as in walk-
ing, when you take that first step --- you are taking that step from where? Answer: You are taking it from wherever you
happen to be, your reference spot.
Just as I have a reference spot when walking, I likewise already have a reference vision in my mind when painting, so
therefore, it is much easier to compare that vision with reality. When drawing or painting a woman, for instance, I have
in my mind a vision of the perfect woman, my ideal Black beauty, as a reference, having perfect body proportions and
perfect facial features, and I alter that image as I draw or paint whatever woman, of any race, who happens to be my
model. And, that model can be a photograph.

To give you a practical illustration of my thought process as I render my model's portrait, I will generalize my descrip-
tion of the dimensions of the typical human face and ignore the specifics of my ideal Black beauty, in order to assist you
in your own thought process of anyone, in case you have the same drawing/thought style that I have. Here goes ...

For the average head, in my mind I say that the perfect face is divided into equal thirds, those thirds being:

From the hairline to the top of the eyebrows

From the top of the eyebrows to the bottom of the nose
From the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin

NOTE: There is a subtle bonus for using this measuring technique. That being that it is much easier to locate the place-
ment of the ear; for obviously, the ear is situated in the middle section.

I further say that the bottom of the lower lip is halfway between the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin. In pla-
cing the month, every art book I have seen states that the centerline dividing the lips is one-third the distance between
the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin. However, to me, it is easier to indicate the halfway mark of anything
(as opposed to a third), which in this case, locates the bottom of the lower lip and not the centerline dividing the lips.

By the time I reach this point, I can pretty much clearly envision my model on the pastel paper. However, as further
check-up, I may or may not then say to myself that her eye line is exactly halfway between the top of her head to the
bottom of her chin. Believe it or not, for decades I did not know that the eye line divided the head in half, and when I
did discover it, I was frustrated with myself for this previous lack of knowledge because I simultaneously learned that it
was common knowledge even to non-artists. This frustration was further compounded by the fact that it should have
been especially the more obvious to me (than the method I adopted of dividing the face in equal thirds) since it is much
easier for me to divide things in half, as I already indicated.

Also, a life-sized portrait can be quickly assessed if I presuppose that the distance from her hairline to the bottom of her
chin is the same distance as my outstretched and open hand, from the tip of my middle finger to the tip of my thumb [try
it on yourself and be amazed in how accurate that measurement is], and that the width of her head is two-thirds the dis-
tance from her hairline to the bottom of her chin --- for example, it is the same distance as from her brow line to the bot-
tom of her chin.

I have these sorts of measurements and dimensions, in my mind, for all the body proportions of my ideal Black female
figure, which is one of my two specialties; the other is depicting biblical characters.

And, in case you are wondering what else I include in my reference vision of my ideal woman, a Black beauty, I will
only reveal that it includes images of her expansive rounded forehead, her small recessed chin, her big baby doll eyes,
her broad/non-pointy nose and her natural full, equally pronounced, pouty lips.

Even though you ought to be able to easily envision what I am discussing here, I feel you would probably like to see
visual representations of this verbal tutorial in action right about now. For that you can go to a website I discovered
which has a page which illustrates the technique independently created by Mr. Andrew Loomis and Ms. E. Grace Hanks
in the early 20th century. And by now you know it is my preferred method since I strongly favor, recommend and ad-
vocate it time and time again right here on my website.

While searching the referenced website, below, I could not find any instance where the artist gave credit for the origins
of the material, but the Loomis method is clearly evident for those who are familiar with Andrew Loomis' masterful art
instruction.

Illustrated Loomis Method Face Drawing Instruction

Here is another one likened to the one above that borrows heavily from The Loomis Method and even though the artist
also does not give credit, nevertheless, it is quite evident where the artist obtained the technique.

The Loomis Head Drawing Method Illustrated

Many would-be artists think that drawing a likeness is difficult, that drawing the head is a chore. But, once you get the
hang of it, you can draw a head quite rapidly. I average around ten (10) minutes. How long do you think it takes the
artist at Picture Draw ? On the other hand, whereas many people feel coloring is simple, I once felt that the painting part
was hard (as I discussed in my preface). So, exactly what colors are for rendering flesh tones? And, are there skin tone
formulas?

For the answers to those questions and more, just continue on to ...

Chapter 2
So-Called Flesh Colors

Is there at least one formula for flesh colors? This eBook starts off with what I really wanted to know the most when I
was in high school. To me, this (and the following "flesh color/flesh tone" chapters) is the most important section in this
eBook, especially if you are already rather adept at drawing people. So, whatever you may feel about relying on formu-
las for non-math related matters, I am sure those readers (who have no idea about the concept of flesh colors but always
wanted to know) may consider the information given in these chapters, priceless. By the way, cooking recipes are also
non-math related formulas.

Many artists of whatever major medium (oils, watercolor or pastels) have developed their favorite mixture of hues to
result in flesh colors. To an aspiring artist unfamiliar with color mixing, the selected color sets seem to conflict, how-
ever, in reality, that is not the case.

For in actuality (even if the artists themselves do not know this) all flesh colors boil down to a simple formula:

Flesh Colors = two warms + a cool + gray

That's it. I, independently, came up with this formula, myself. You would think all the art books would mention this,
however, I have tons of them where I cannot find this information anywhere. This is why I surmised, above, that maybe
many artists don’t know this, maybe they just use the same colors that their teachers taught them to use with no under-
standing as to why those colors work.

An Important Tip: If, when painting a small area in a portrait, you cannot determine what some mysterious color is,
merely squint your eyes and observe that spot on your model, and substitute the equivalent value of gray for it on your
painting. You can even optionally mix any color at random with that correct gray. This is why it is a good thing to have
at least ten shades of gray handy at all times. Realize, that this is art, and not an exact science, for the painting will still
look perfectly fine, even if the wrong colors are used. This also explains why black & white photographs still look good
even though they are not in color, by definition; and, it also explains why color TV still looks good even if the colors are
not adjusted correctly. Go to a store that sells televisions and note that when television sets are side-by-side and have the
same TV station selected, that each TV set has different colors, yet, still looks good when viewed in isolation. Like I
said, “art, not science,” ladies and gentlemen.

The good thing about painting in pastel is that one does not have to worry too much about adding gray in the flesh color
formula, because either black or white is inherent in ALL of the various shades except the pure hue, itself. And, because
either black or white is already mixed into the pastel sticks, then gray can be omitted in the formula. That being the
case, then the formula (using pastel sticks) is simplified to become:

Flesh Colors = two warms + a cool

Now that you know this open secret, though, just go to your color wheel and choose any two warm colors at random
and mix them together and see what you get. You get a pretty good depiction of somebody’s skin tone, don't you?

Since it is so simple to do, then no doubt, practically all artists basically begin by thinking about the overall “bright”
colors when contemplating warm and cool colors. That is, it is easier to think that warm colors are just yellow, orange
and red, and that cool colors are just blue and green. That's easy enough to remember. Only then do they probably begin
to think about the grayed down versions of these in which to add to the appropriate warm and cool categories. Some
grayed down colors are yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt umber, turquoise, indigo and the like. These five “bright” colors
(yellow, orange, red, blue & green) plus black and white are really all you need --- that is, if you are in a pinch or only
have access to a limited palette. For example, some art classes limit beginning art students to using only the primary
colors of yellow, red and blue plus black and white, in order to hammer color theory into their brains.

As an exercise in using only the five overall “bright” colors that I suggest, let’s pick any two warm colors from them
and mix them to see what results.

I'll start you off by picking what I stumbled upon long ago by accident while drawing and painting cartoon characters.
By experimentation, I came up with what I call "Comic Book White Skin Tone Flesh." Get out your favorite comic
book, or retrieve the "funnies section" of the Sunday newspaper, and see if I am not right.

Comic Book White Skin Tone Flesh = yellow + orange

Yes, your favorite super hero is mostly a scaredy-cat, I mean mostly yellow.

For the more serious art of "the old masters" (the great artists of centuries past), my observations have determined that
what is generally used for white flesh is not the simple overall bright colors of yellow + orange, but rather a great deal
of a grayed down yellow + a little bit of red. And, what is yellow + red? That's right, it is orange again. This is interest-
ing because, as a Black person, myself, I note that in painting anybody of any race, I plaster the same color, orange, all
over them. And, with that amazing discovery, I have single-handedly solved the race question. We are not black skins or
white skins or red skins (as in Native American) or brown skins (as in Hispanic/Latino). No! We are all various shades
of orange --- orange skins. Be sure to add the historical videotape of me to your collection showcasing me modestly and
graciously accepting my well-deserved Nobel Prize “live” on international TV.

Slapping myself back to reality, I’ll continue ...

That being said, white people (no matter what complexion) are either mostly pink or mostly orange, while remaining
both. And, what is pink? Pink is red plus any light color, including white. Black people, on the other hand (no matter
what complexion), are every color of the rainbow, from jet black to lily white, with a greater concentration of orange
than the other races.

=============INSERT===================

Well after I created the text for this eBook in 2002, I bought a portrait art book, written a year earlier, to add to my col-
lection. In it, it is asserted that it is white skin that has the greatest range. Even though the author of the book paints
well, I still have to wonder what planet did she come from? Just in my family alone, my Mother’s near dozen brothers
and sisters range in complexion from bass black to treble white. White people, on the other hand, are so limited in range
that, basically, I only use pink + light brown, or pink + burnt sienna, to paint them, whether the model is pink or orange.
Not only that, but I can even get away with painting white people by using ONLY any one warm color plus white.
Maybe I just misunderstood her passing statement. Since it is a nice book otherwise, I’ll give her the benefit of the
doubt and presuppose she is referring to the overall flesh tone on the face.

For example, in people of color, the flesh tone range on the face is basically uniform throughout (with reds & purples
thrown in here and there), whereas with white skin, the face can clearly and obviously be divided into three distinct
color sections --- the top, or forehead band, the middle or eye/cheek/nose/ear band and the bottom, or mouth/chin band.
I explained this in detail earlier in chapter one, when I described my “equal thirds reference” human head proportions.

Some of her painting insights are surprisingly similar to some of my own, and that fact delights me in that it says that I
am on the right track. That is, I managed to figure much of this out without any formal art training.

No, I am not leaving you in the dark, for I am referring to Painting Beautiful Skin Tones With Color & Light by Ms.
Chris Saper.

Here is another book on "painting beauiful skin tones" that starts where Ms. Saper's book leaves off. Is is called, Harley
Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist.

Both of these books can be purchased from my pastel portrait secrets art store .
===========END OF INSERT================

So, if anyone asks you, “What is melanin?” --- just quote to that person what I will say in my Nobel Prize acceptance
speech; tell that person Landis said that “melanin is the color orange.”

Painting in The Zone

This has nothing to do with anything, but, when painting, you can experience both relaxing and intense concentration
feelings at the same time. When that happens, you are in “the zone,” that is, you can easily go blank. So much so, that
the next thing you know, the painting is complete. Being in “the zone” is not spooky, as in Twilight Zone, or any sort of
negative self-hypnosis, or other demonic possession type of unchristian experience, or even some prescription drug side
effect, for it is a wondrous time (and brain power) saver. It may rarely happen to you, but if you think hard enough, you
may remember a time or two when you may have experienced something similar --- while driving, for example. You
cranked your car and started off --- then suddenly you were there, you were where you were going. I bring this up, be-
cause, just earlier this morning (August 5, 2002) that happened to me again while driving. However, this time, things
went embarrassingly wrong, for instead of “suddenly being there,” I was “suddenly somewhere else.” It was not too em-
barrassing because I was alone in the car.

You are probably thinking I am in the early throes of “old timers,” I mean Alzheimer’s disease. If you do, then also put
yourself in the same class or category, for painting in “the zone” is nothing more than pleasingly painting while pleas-
urely daydreaming. Gotcha.

Fast forward, New Year's Day, 2005, and I am slowly re-writing each page of this website. So slow, in fact that I am
editing my site a few minutes every two or three months or so, that it is now about New Year's Day, 2006, and I am still
editing. My fault, because I have been caught up in "the affairs of this life," as the scriptures admonish us not to do
when we are doing the will of God. While working on this site is not exactly doing the Lord's work, my non-action does
demonstrate how easy it is to get side-tracked.

Make Things Easy On Yourself

Think about this --- if I can show you what colors to use for the two extremes of human flesh, Black and White, then the
in-between shades or complexions for the other races, should be easier to determine on your own. I will do that in the ...

Chapter 3
So-Called Skin Tones

Since the focus of these pages is on pastels, then save yourself some aggravation by obtaining a simple palette, or set of
colors. Pastels are different from oils and watercolors in that, for the most part, color mixing is done on the pastel paint-
ing itself. Also, you can only mix about three colors on an area of the painting before it gets extremely difficult to al-
most impossible to mix any more. It is for this reason that some pastel stick manufacturers offer many, many exact col-
ors in their paint sets. Some offer color sets numbering in the hundreds of colors. Rich purists, who can afford these ex-
pensive sets, love it.

Not me (even if money was no object), for when executing a painting, gathering and remembering tons of color sticks
can quickly become a problem. And, I see I am not the only one who feels that way as you can observe for yourself
when you go pastel stick shopping. Your favorite art store showcases pre-selected pastel sets for landscapes, florals, and
portraits. And, within the portrait category, you can even find flesh color sets. Of course, artists, who may or may not
paint using the same colors you would use, selected these colors. So, there is a slight dilemma for you. As a result, I
suggest you make it easy on yourself and use only a handful of colors as a reference in the beginning, then, after awhile,
you can select your own chosen flesh colors.

Handful of Colors

However, you may discover that you can no longer obtain your chosen flesh colors anywhere, for the manufacturer
stopped making them. That happens. So, to avoid that, you can just make your own, and as a bonus, you will get a better
quality of pastel stick as a side benefit. I may show you how to do that, too, if I feel like it.

Now, exactly what colors do you use to begin your reference set? Take a tip from what history has determined to be the
medium of choice, oils, and see what colors those artists use. The oil color sets vary, but you see pretty much the same
dozen colors at art stores. Since we are dealing with pastels, I will list (as much as I can assess to be) the pastel color
counterparts. Bear in mind that even different pastel manufacturers use different names for the exact same color. For ex-
ample, in oil colors, a basic color is "cadmium red." One pastel manufacturer calls it "carmine, " another calls it "poppy
red," another calls it "crimson lake," another…

Well, you get the picture. Whatever the name, I don't worry about it, for when I am painting, I just look at all the colors
I have before me and select what I have that looks like a "lipstick color."

The Basic Dozen (arranged in color wheel order)

My soft pastel brand of choice is Rembrandt, which manufactures Rembrandt Soft Pastels, and I will give you the spe-
cific colors for your consideration. They are:

Light Yellow 201.5

Yellow Ochre 227 (some lighter tints)
Orange 235.5
Burnt Sienna 411 (most shades & tints)
Carmine 318 (some medium and lighter shades & tints)
Madder Lake Deep 331.5
Red Violet Light 546.5
Phthalo Blue 570.3
Ultramarine Deep 506.3
Chrome Green Deep 609.3
Olive Green 620.3
Burnt Umber 409 (most shades & tints)

Notice two things - first, notice that there are two versions of the primary colors (yellow, red, & blue) and two versions
of all but one of the secondary colors (orange, purple, & green). Purple is the secondary color of which there is only one
version. Second, notice that for the most part, one version is the actual pure bright color, or hue, itself, and the other ver-
sion is an impure mixed dull version of it. For example, Light Yellow is basically a pure and bright yellow and Yellow
Orche is an impure and mixed dull yellow. And if you are wondering where the purple is and whether burnt umber is a
primary or secondary color, wonder no more. For there is not an exact pure purple, here, rather a warm purple (a red-
purple), called red violet light, is indicated. By the way, whereas red violet light is a warm purple, there exists a cool
purple, called violet (not given on this list), which is a blue-purple. And if you mix the primary colors of yellow, red,
and blue together you will get a blah non-distinct no color known as "artist's gray," as I stated elsewhere in this eBook.
And the closest color to that is burnt umber, which is really a very dull red-orange, duller than burnt sienna, which I also
stated elsewhere. Other things to note - as you can now see, of the two oranges, burnt sienna is not really an orange but
a red-orange. Both carmine and madder lake deep are both reds, and ultramarine deep is a blue color. You must be
aware of these distinctions, despite the fact that neither the words "orange," "red" or "blue" appear in any of their re-
spective names. Hopefully, this explanation of the basic dozen colors makes sense to you.

And, also include:

Black 700.5
White 100.5
Grey 704 (at least 6 tints & shades)

And I am throwing in Mars Violet 538 (most shades & tints) because the dark shade can be substituted for the dark
shade of Phthalo Blue even though they do not look that much alike.

That being said, actually, you would benefit by having a large variety of colors, as can be seen with other formulas I
will show you shortly in this chapter and the next. This is because that even though you can mix the suggested basic
dozen colors to achieve your desired color, it would be much easier and to your benefit to go to the exact color you
need. For example, if you mixed Light Yellow and Carmine to get a flesh color, and you really needed a slightly darker
flesh color, you could switch from Light Yellow to Raw Sienna, which is not on this list, because Raw Sienna is a dull
version of Light Yellow. Or if you wanted to paint your model outside in the sun, then use Gold Ochre, also not on this
list, instead of Light Yellow. So, if you are able to get a supply of extra colors, here are described some more flesh tone
formulas for you to play with:

========================================

Dark Skin: These three have similar results

1.) Ultramarine Deep covered with Burnt Sienna

2.) Black covered with Orange
3.) Black covered with Burnt Sienna

Shadows:
Black covered with (1) or Black covered with Permanent Deep Red covered with Permanent Green Deep

Lights:
Blue-violet covered with light tint of Orange or Burnt Sienna covered with light tint of Phthalo Blue

========================================

Medium Dark Brown Skin: These three have similar results

1.) Burnt Sienna covered with Yellow Ochre

2.) Burnt Sienna covered with Orange
3.) Burnt Sienna covered with Gray

Shadows:
Cobalt Blue covered with Burnt Sienna or Ultramarine Deep covered with Orange

Lights:
Yellow Ochre covered with a light tint of Phthalo Blue or Carmine covered with light tint of Phthalo Blue

========================================

Medium Light Brown Skin: These three have similar results

1.) Burnt Sienna covered with Light Yellow covered with Gray
2.) Blue-violet covered with a light tint of Orange
3.) Phthalo Blue covered with a light tint of Orange

Shadows:
Yellow Ochre covered with Permanent Deep Red covered with Cobalt Blue or Blue-violet covered with Orange

Lights:
A light tint of Yellow Ochre or Phthalo Blue covered with light tint of Yellow Ochre

========================================

Light Skin: These three have similar results

1.) A light tint of Yellow Ochre

2.) Light Yellow or Yellow Ochre covered with a tiny amount of a light tint of Carmine
3.) Phthalo Blue covered with a light tint of Orange

Shadows:
Phthalo Blue or Blue-violet covered with a light tint of Carmine, or Blue-violet covered with a light tint of either Yellow
Ochre or Light Yellow

Lights:
A light tint of Phthalo Blue or a light tint of Light Yellow

========================================

Rembrandt Soft Pastels classify their pure colors as “.5,” their dark colors (shades) as “.3” and their lighter colors (tints)
as anything over “.5.” For example, if you are looking at the selection for Burnt Sienna, you would see:

Burnt Sienna 411.3 (the dark shade)

Burnt Sienna 411.5 (the pure color)
Burnt Sienna 411.12 (a light tint)

Your math teachers probably told you that “.12” is smaller than both “.3” and ".5" and they are right, but, here, it is the
opposite. This is art, not science, boys and girls.

All of the above listed soft pastels can be seen on our Art Store page.

Skin tones are mixed using just a few of these, and the other colors are used for coloring whatever else is to be included
in your paintings, such as clothing, setting and background depictions. Other colors are added to these basic dozen when
you discover that an exact match for what you are seeking does indeed already exist.

Pink and Orange

Earlier, I said that white people are either pink or orange. I also said that the simplified flesh color formula is:

Flesh Colors = two warms + a cool

I gave a few examples two warm color mixing, but I said nothing about what happens when cool colors are added. The
masters generally painted only white people, and the cool color of choice for them was green. Their paintings look
splendid, so, let's go with what they used. My guess is that they used green because of its all-purpose manner of graying
down intense colors used for skin tones. I guessed that because, logically, since people are not really bright colored, but
are really rather dull, then adding a cool color to the mix is a good way to tone the intensity down.

Hopefully, that sounds convincing enough for you. However, something else may be really happening. So, forget that
supposed “graying down” concept for the time being and let's think of some possible alternate explanation. With intense
observation you will see green around the features, especially deep in the eye sockets, in the smile lines, around the
nose and around the mouth area. Besides these, you may also see green along the hairline; but to me it is strongest radi-
ating up from the jawline. What I am describing can be easily seen in selected random photo clippings from magazines,
but is most definitive to me when I am watching reporters on TV and in videos, specifically on local newscasts and on
national news magazines.

Maybe green is an optical illusion or mere imagined fantasy, but I do not think so for people are in the orange family,
and orange is yellow and red, together. That being the case, I continue analyzing ...

The yellow portions of the flesh which happen to be juxtaposed to the dark shadow areas, cause our eyes to blend these
yellow and dark (yellow + black = green) sections at the edges of the shadows, thereby forcing us to think we are seeing
green. Then again, maybe it is not an optical illusion but merely a case of yellow + purple = brown, that is, yellow flesh
in the face next to the purple in the shadows causes an “almost brown” to emerge at the edges, where the edges can be
seen either as red or as green, depending on the complexion of the model. And, with that realization, sure enough, in
photos where I cannot see green at all, I wind up seeing the beginnings of red materializing.

That takes care of orange, along with the green factor, now, how about pink? Pink is red plus any light color including
white. Since red is a warm color, then another warm color is needed, in this case, a light one. The only light warm color
I can think of is yellow. But, what yellow to use? Actually, any yellow works just fine. So...

Pink = carmine + light yellow

Pink = carmine + yellow ochre
Pink = carmine + raw sienna
Pink = carmine + gold ochre

and, on and on.

To save you some trouble of adding to the basic dozen, I have already discovered that this pastel pink is already being
manufactured under the name of "Light Oxide Red 339."

Suggestion: For the most part, you will only be using two shades of pink, Light Oxide Red 339.5 and Light Oxide Red
339.9, mostly the latter. So, definitely buy the second one, and get them both if you can.

Remember, that we are limiting ourselves to only three colors when mixing on an area of the painting, so whenever pos-
sible, find the exact color, especially if you are going to be using it over and over again. In painting portraits, you will
indeed be using pink (or whatever looks almost pink) a great deal. And, what else looks like pink? When I run out of
pink, I look down to see what I have that is very close to it, and that turns out to be the lightest shades of burnt sienna on
my palette, and I call those pink for the time being. And, even though purists may rebel, the results look pretty much the
same, so who cares? I hope I don't come across as arrogant with that statement, however, I repeat what I wrote earlier,
art is just that --- "art," and not an exact science. Some purists say, “don’t use burnt sienna,” “don’t use brown,” “don’t
use black,” “don’t, don’t, don’t.” Now, what is it that defiant children playfully say in a singsong fashion? Oh yes, they
sing --- “I don’t care what mama don’t allow, I’m gonna to do it, anyhow.”

In this eBook, we are successfully breaking all of the “don’t” rules just listed. Look out for more non-conformity in
the ...

Chapter 4:
Cool Colors & More

Adding A Cool Color

We must realize that even within the same race, and even on the same person's face, different areas are different colors.
People are not just dipped in paint; we are not cartoon characters, for there is variety in each of us. So, what about the
other pinks we can utilize on the same face? This is where the cool colors come in. The function of cool colors, in this
case, is to gray down the intense pure colors used for skin tones, as I mentioned previously. We merely take the pink and
add various amounts of blue.

BLUE!?!

Don't get upset because you thought I was supposed to mention, what I said the old masters used in their portrait paint-
ings, "green." WRONG! Green comes later. Relax. Green is for depth effect --- for an optical illusion’s sake. Warm col-
ors come forward and cool colors recede. Remember that. In this case, we add blue to pink simply to darken [well actu-
ally, to “gray down”] and not for any sort of depth effect. But, why not just add black to “darken/gray down” pink? You
would not add black because, if it were added, you would wind up with mud and would not know why. And, here’s the
reason. Remember that here we are saying that pink is a very light orange, consisting of yellow plus red. Add black to
that mixture and you will get [(black + yellow) + red]. Yellow + black is not dark yellow. No! Yellow + black is green.
So, now instead of dark pink, you would have green plus red, which is mud. Therefore, instead of adding black to
darken pink, just add a dark cool color, blue. Problem solved. By the way, adding brown (burnt umber) to pink, works
just fine, too, and it is one of my favorite flesh tone formulas. We will be using the pink/brown combination later on in
this eBook. Stay tuned.

NOTE: I exclaimed, "pink plus blue" and not "yellow plus blue."

NOTE: Flesh color, here, in portrait painting, is made up of yellow and red. Yellow + red = orange, and blue is the com-
plement of orange. Complements are used to “gray down” colors, and that is the main reason blue is used in this case;
so try not to think of it as being added mainly for the purpose of darkening.

Like I said, elsewhere, maybe some artists are not analytically inclined, and that is why they come up with these
"don'ts." "Don't use black because you will get mud and I don’t know why,” they say.

I say, “Just analyze it.”

“But,” you ask, “if yellow + black = green ruins the effect by turning everything to mud, then why doesn’t the same
thing happen when yellow and blue are added?”

As I just explained in the last note, "I did not say to add 'yellow plus blue'." However, you ask a good question, anyway.
And, as with many things, you will remember the answer better if you figure it out yourself. How? Again, just “analyze
it.” You will be delighted when you discover the solution all by yourself.

All right! Don’t rack your brains or hurt your head over it. It is not life or death; for the solution is that there never was
a problem in the first place. Mud is in the eye of the beholder. In other words, yes, using black is perfectly acceptable,
and so too is using any other dark color. Let us, now, examine this color mixture some more.

There are at least two ways to think about this:

1.) You are not adding blue to yellow, no, for that indeed would be green. What you are really doing is adding blue to
red and getting purple as a result. And, since purple is opposite yellow on the color wheel (meaning it is yellow’s com-
plement), then a graying takes place.

That is, yellow becomes dull when a little bit of purple is added. And what is dull yellow? That’s correct, it is raw si-
enna.

[carmine + blue = purple] + yellow = raw sienna

Yellow and purple are complements, so, purple is graying down yellow, turning the combination into raw sienna.

Now, it is easy to see that as an alternative to mixing the three colors of yellow ochre, carmine and blue, or even mixing
the two colors of pink and blue, that by the mere task of analyzing, you can see that the same result is achieved by mix-
ing yellow plus any dark color plus carmine.

Why?

Again, the answer is because dark yellow (or more correctly, dull yellow) is raw sienna. And, while I am at it, and in
case you are wondering, raw umber is even duller yellow, and burnt sienna and burnt umber are dull and duller red-or-
ange, respectively.

Raw sienna = yellow + brown

Raw umber = yellow + dark brown
Burnt sienna = red-orange + brown
Burnt umber = red-orange + dark brown
Now, you can begin to see why different artists use different pastels for flesh colors. When you analyze it, you readily
see that there is “more than one way to skin a cat,” that there are several ways to achieve the same result. So, for extra
measure, for backup and to cover yourself, you can add some light shades of raw sienna (Raw Sienna 234) to your basic
dozen. And, while you are at it add some shades of gold ochre (Gold Ochre 231) since it more or less looks similar to
raw sienna and because it is also in the yellow family and because they are close enough to each other on the color
wheel.

To further clarify what results when you mix these three colors in two similar combinations, here they are together:

Pink Flesh (light raw sienna) = carmine + blue + light yellow

Add more red to the mix and you get:

Warmer Pink Flesh = carmine + raw sienna

No! I did not forget. I said, above, that there are at least two ways to think about this. I just gave you one way, and here,
very briefly, is another:
2.) Using these same three colors of yellow, blue and red, let us analyze what happens if you think of blue as being ad-
ded to yellow this time, instead of being added to red as before.

Yellow + blue = green

Add red to mix and you get:

Green + red = brown

Add a great deal more yellow and you get yellow-brown. And, as we concluded in the last analysis:

Yellow-brown = raw sienna

Need I say more?

Either way (method 1 or method 2), you get the same results and can alter the proportions of carmine and raw sienna to
suit the situation. For example, when painting a portrait where you depict the overall skin color as having more raw si-
enna than carmine, then you are rendering someone as if that person has a somewhat darker “olive” complexion.

Enough of analyzing “the blue factor” for now, and on to the function of the other cool bright color, green, and its rela-
tionship to pink. However, before we do, let me expound about this mysterious ...

Graying Down Concept

When I say, “gray,” “warm gray” or “cool gray,” I am talking about the black and white gray everybody knows and
loves, which may or may not be modified with the addition of warm and cool colors to alter its “flavor.”

Besides this everyday gray, colorists have come up with what they call, “artists gray.” This is an equal mixture of the
three primary colors. It does not look like the black and white gray, but rather more like an undefined blah “no color,”
closer to gray-brown than anything else.

Now, on to ...

Green And Its Relationship To Pink

Pink plus green is used for areas of the face that recede. For example, imagine your model looking directly at you. You
will note that the nose juts out from the face with the tip being closest to you. Now, you can discern that the parts that
connect to the cheek area are the parts of the nose that are farthest away from you, and are therefore receding. It is in
those areas that you use a touch of green for the optical illusion depth effect.

That takes care of the pink areas, but how about the orange areas? What is an artist to do? I know! How about adding,
hmmmm … orange? In those areas, the formula is pink + green + orange. Simple. As you can see, here is a good ex-
ample of colors adding up fast. Since pink is carmine + yellow ochre (or any other yellow), then the orange areas would
force you to mix four colors (carmine, yellow ochre, green & orange), which may get you into trouble. However, if you
already have light oxide red as your pink, then, you are back down to the safe three colors. WHEW! That was a close
one.

NOTE: You can use more than three colors in painting each area in a portrait; you can even use dozens and dozens of
colors. However, you have to use a very light touch, don't blend with your finger, and take hours, days and weeks to fin-
ish your portrait painting. This is if you are using standard medium pastels, only, and using standard pastel papers. Be
aware that altering either of these allows for other options. For example, if you paint on velour paper, or even on water-
color board, instead of on pastel paper, then you can use more than three colors in each area of the painting. Likewise, if
you use hard, overlaid with medium soft, overlaid with very soft pastel paints, then you can also use more than three.

Dark Complexions

All the above formulas (and modifications we will be demonstrating in this eBook) were devised for painting portraits
of white people, however, they work well with light skinned black people, too. Now all we need are formulas for the
dark skin variety. These formulas can likewise be used for the shadow areas of white people. We go back to the same
old song...

Flesh Colors = two warms + a cool

Since white people are not really white, but pink or orange, and Black people are not really black, but various shades of
brown, then we need formulas for brown since we already have them for the pink and orange flesh color shades. Brown
can be obtained by any number of color combinations, besides the mud brown (brown = red + green) already discussed,
such as:

Brown = orange + black

Brown = orange + burnt sienna
Brown = orange + purple
Brown = orange + blue
Brown = orange + gray

HEY!?!

Is there a pattern going on here? Yes, for the most part, brown is any dark color plus orange (or even any dark color plus
red and some yellow for that matter). I used to use black plus orange, but, black gets messy (can I hear the purists taunt-
ing me?), and you constantly have to clean your hands. And, if you are not too careful, you can look like a coal miner
after awhile. Not only that, but if you use an economical (that is, a "cheap") black manufactured by a no-name company,
then, the result can look very "chalky." Not good. To avoid that, I suggest you mix what I call, "pretty black" or "rich
black." To do that just combine (in this order), green then red then blue, and leave it alone. If you desire, you can fiddle
a little bit and throw in a couple of dark colors, brown and yes, even black, itself. But, as you can see, by doing that, the
number of colors adds up rather rapidly. So, just stick with the three. For economy's sake, you can achieve a pretty black
by mixing only two colors of red and green, and omitting the third color, blue. Specifically, I suggest you mix using red
violet light 546.3 and olive green 620.3.

Using your favorite two warm color brown formula (mine, now, is burnt sienna + orange), then what's left is to add a
cool color to gray it down, either blue or green. If burnt sienna were not part of this formula, then simply adding green
would result in a so-called olive skin tone complexion, similar to the raw sienna/carmine mixture discussed earlier.
Likewise, the addition of blue would result in dark browns, typical of dark-skinned Black people. However, since burnt
sienna is included here, then the cool color green works just fine, here, just as it does in fair-skinned white people.

An Important Tip: As an aside, I will add that you can also get any shade of brown by mixing raw umber plus ANY
other color except maybe green. Especially useful in painting shades of browns of various races of people, is the mixing
of raw umber plus either bright yellow or bright orange or bright red or bright blue. This is another amazing discovery. I
keep having these "happy accidents" and finding out things like this, as you probably have had, yourself, and will con-
tinue to have, too.

As another aside, just as pink is already manufactured as the lightest few shades of "Light Oxide Red" pastel sticks, I
found that the black + orange = brown formula is likewise already manufactured as the darkest "Permanent Red Light"
pastel stick, “Permanent Red Light 370.3.” I use this as my all-purpose medium brown (since it is two colors in one),
and only mix burnt sienna plus orange when I run out of dark permanent red light.

This good news gets even better, for a very similar two color combination mixture of Brown + Green for dark complex-
ions is already being manufactured as "Cuput Martuum Red 343.3." So, add it to your basic dozen. In the meantime,
you can continue to experiment by mixing brown/green, or brown/blue color combinations to come up with variations
of it. For example, when you do, you will discover that you can also get a very, very similar color by mixing raw umber
408.3 plus mars violet 538.7. Dark blue-purple (mars violet) looks very similar to the ultramarine blue found in oil col-
ors. My favorite brown alternative of mixing the three colors of burnt sienna, orange and green is of mixing the two col-
ors carmine 318 and mars violet 538, which is a red plus a dark color. And, in case you are wondering if not only can
you get brown by mixing orange and a dark color, but you can also do so by mixing red and a dark color, as evidenced
here, then think again. For reds only work if they are actually pure reds with some yellow mixed in, which by definition,
puts them in the orange family.

To get lighter shades of brown, use lighter pastels sticks (or add white in a pinch), and to get darker shades of brown,
add burnt umber (which is also a brown, itself).

Just as the color pink is used often in painting portraits of White people, and the formula, brown + green is used for the
overall skin color of dark skinned Black people, likewise a very dark violet (violet is blue-purple) is also used a great
deal in shadow flesh mixtures of dark skinned Black people. So, add Violet 536.3 to your basic dozen. Alternatively,
you can mix it yourself by blending the colors you already have, Red Violet Light 546.5 + Mars Violet 538.3, or by
blending any other red + blue. Note, that this is shadow brown and not the pretty black just discussed.

I just mentioned that Brown + Green is being manufactured as Cuput Martuum Red 343.3, when in actuality it is a red-
brown or purple-brown. However, in actual usage it looks so much like brown + green, that you can get away with it
easily --- art, not science, sisters and brothers.
Other Needed Colors

Now, almost all that's left to depict any complexion of any race is to have on hand various shades of warm grays. Be-
ware of purists who scream never to use gray. I say that gray is perfectly fine as long as you use the right value and as
long as you add a warm or a cool color to it. Again, pastel manufacturers have this covered, too, for not only can you
buy warm grays, but you can buy cool grays, also.

If you choose not to buy any more pastel sticks, you can make warm grays by mixing black and white (look out purists)
plus yellow ochre. If you already have a set of plain grays, you are fortunate. In that case, just mix any desired shade
with yellow ochre. If you are daring, confident and bold, you can substitute orange for yellow ochre, but be careful, for
you can get things real muddy (non-desired shades of brown) very quickly. In other words, just stick with yellow, to mix
with shades of gray, in order to create warm grays.

Finally, you have the cool grays, bluish grey 727, which are mostly used in the light areas of the face, and the other cool
grays, green grey 709. These are the grays which are used to “gray down” colors and to make parts of your painting ap-
pear to recede.

Another Optional Pastel: Although totally unnecessary, it is highly recommended that you have at your disposal, a spe-
cial kind of Conte’ Crayons, called “sanguine” pastel sticks. Get medium sanguine. This sanguine crayon is a burnt si-
enna type color that comes in handy in all sorts of unexpected ways.

Are You Thoroughly Overwhelmed Yet?

Never fear; in the beginning, and to keep it simple for you, just think to yourself that ALL flesh tones are basically com-
posed of a sensible brown color plus some sensible warm color plus a sensible cool color. For example, in Black flesh,
(or even some Native American Indian flesh) the formula includes brown + burnt sienna. In White flesh, the formula in-
cludes brown + pink, and for other races (Asian, Hispanic and more) the formula includes brown + yellow orchre. With
each of these formulas, do not forget to add an appropriate and well-defined sensible cool color. In chart form, it looks
like this; let's take a look:

======================================================

Black Skin Flesh Tones (brown + burnt sienna) for the base colors. Carmine + mars violet give similar results, as indic-
ated, above. This knowledge is useful and very convenient since, as will be seen below, mars violet is also used extens-
ively for shadow tones and neutral tones, too. However, since flesh colors = two warms + a cool, then we need a cool
color for the flesh tone. As I mentioned elsewhere, I use the cool color the old masters favored in their flesh tones when
they painted people, and that is the color green. So, even though you can still use brown + burnt sienna as your base col-
ors (or even use carmine + mars violet), recall that since brown is really dark orange, then you can just say your base
colors are orange + burnt sienna. And when you include the addition of a cool color, then more specifically, the base
colors plus a cool color become orange + burnt sienna + green. Re-arranging the color order we have burnt sienna + or-
ange + green. When we re-arrange the color order like that, do you notice anything? We now have burnt sienna plus
what? We now have burnt sienna plus orange & green. And orange & green is...? That is right! It is our old friend brown
again, taking us back where we started at the top of this paragraph with Black skin flesh tones = brown + burnt sienna.
As I say over and over again, "analyze it" my friends.

Oops! I am getting away from "keeping it simple" by elaborating and not leaving alone the simple mixture of brown +
some sensible warm color. Anyway, you may see more about this in any videos I may produce.

a.) light flesh tone

b.) medium flesh tone
c.) dark flesh tone

Other Peoples Of Color Skin Flesh Tones (brown + yellow ochre) for the base colors

a.) light flesh tone

b.) medium flesh tone
c.) dark flesh tone

White Skin Flesh Tones (brown + pink) for the base colors. I am keeping it simple by merely saying brown + pink, but
of course you figured out that it is really light brown + pink. As I just mentioned in my discussion about the flesh tones
of Black people, brown = orange + a dark color of your choice. Here also, you need the addition of a cool color. I have
shown you that the old masters used a little bit of red plus a whole lot of yellow for their White people orange. You can
add so much yellow (light yellow, that is) that the orange color can look rather pink. This is good, in that since White
people are either orange or pink anyway, you can adjust accordingly. So, you can easily get away with White flesh tone
being either brown + pink -- that is, tending towards orange -- or just pink by itself. Now, what about the needed cool
color? Whereas, I use green as the cool color for Black people, for White people, on the other hand, I use... well...
green. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That is, the old masters used green, so, why tinker with success? That being said, you
can still get away with using blue, as mentioned at the top of this webpage under the heading BLUE!?! because you will
be using it to darken the color pink. That being the case, then the flesh tone base colors are either light brown + pink +
green, or just pink + blue. Likewise, as I suggested regarding Black people, you may see more about this in any videos I
may produce.

a.) light flesh tone

b.) medium flesh tone
c.) dark flesh tone

Shadow Tones (raw umber + mars violet )

a.) light shadow

b.) medium shadow
c.) dark shadow

Neutral Tones (green-gray + mars violet)

a.) light Neutral tone

b.) medium Neutral tone

Additional Skin Tones

light orange tone (light burnt umber + gold)

(Gold is needed to prevent the painting from looking too chalky)
medium orange tone (burnt sienna)
dark orange tone (burnt umber)

Hair Color

Deep Yellow 202.9

Burnt Umber 409.3
Cobalt Blue 512.9
Permanent Green Light 618.3
Bluish Gray 727.5

a.) light gold

b.) dark gold

a.) light lavender (purple)

b.) dark lavender (purple)

a.) light orange

b.) dark orange

a.) light brown

b.) dark brown

Black & White.

Miscellaneous Colors for clothing, accessories and whatnot are the primary & secondary colors.

In the chart above, I mention light, medium & dark flesh tones for the various races of people. To be more specific, I
mean light, medium & dark pastel colors to select from; for example, in the simple white skin tone formula of "brown +
pink," use light, medium & dark brown for the three shades.

These skin tone color formulas for different races of people are suggested starting points for any portrait. Likewise for
the shadow colors and so forth. That is, in each portrait you paint, you must take other things into consideration. For ex-
ample, is the subject you are painting outdoors or indoors? If it is outside, is the sky sunny or overcast? Is the time
morning, noon or night? Is the season Autumn, Winter, Spring or Summer? Is the overall lighting warm or cool, bright
or dull? And there are many other factors to consider besides these. For instance, will the painting be high key or low
key?

For these reasons and more, the skin tone formulas for the flesh colors given in this eBook are in general terms and not
too specific. I am giving enough for you to get started, for as I said elsewhere, I wish I had known this when I was in
high school.

I did, however, show you what you need to do in different circumstances. For example, you will read in the next chapter
that you should separate the face, for instance, into light, medium and dark areas, and when you do, you should never
mix the chosen colors of one area with the look-alike version another area of the face. And because the light, medium
and dark colors can vary, depending on the various factors just discussed, I cannot specifically say things like "always
use Permanent Red Light 370.3 for your brown." I said, mix brown and burnt sienna or brown and pink or brown and
yellow orche for the basic formulas for different races of people, for example. I told you what the various browns and
burnt siennas and pinks and yellow orchers were, so, all you had to do was to experiment on a practice sheet before you
committed yourself to the color on the actual painting. I have even supplied a surplus of hints and tips. For example, I
said, when in doubt, just select the correct shade of grey and substitute that for the unknown color you are seeking.

Towards that end, I will end this chapter by giving you some visuals using a digital color wheel, so that you can have
some idea where flesh colors are located on it. That way, you will be able to see in your mind's eye where the colors are
and can choose which ones you want to use at any given time.

These are very handy diagrams because all pastel colors are either in their pure state or they are mixed with black or
white, anyway.

Actually, all the pastel colors I have given in my eBook can be found on this digital color wheel. Realize that all pastel
color names were arbitrarily given by the manufacturers. So, just think which flesh color you need on the digital color
wheel, and who cares what the real name is.

In these pages I have said that people are basically orange - sometimes leaning towards yellow, and sometimes leaning
towards red. So, for this demonstration, I am picking both Yellow-Orange and Red-Orange to showcase, since they rep-
resent typical flesh colors for white skin and for the skin of generic peoples of color, and modifying them so you can see
what visually happens. And in case you are wondering, with this digital color wheel, I would use pure orange alone plus
either gray or black if I wanted to demonstrate the various shades needed for Black skin.

Since flesh colors are two warms + gray + a sensible cool color, I am omitting the cool color here. The two warm colors
I am using are yellow and orange for one instance, and red and orange for the other.

In all the diagrams, there is a color wheel of colors surrounding a triangle with the pure color on the right tip of the tri-
angle, with pure white on the top left tip, and with pure black on the bottom left tip. The remaining colors in between
are all shades of gray mixed with the pure color.

The small image on the bottom left of each diagram is the final color when the color selection on the color wheel is
combined with the color selection in the triangle.

Pure Yellow-Orange Pure Red-Orange

Diagram 1:
Pure Yellow-Orange Diagram 1:
Pure Red-Orange

White from Yellow-Orange White from Red-Orange

Diagram 2:
White from Yellow-Orange Diagram 2:
White from Red-Orange

Gray from Yellow-Orange Gray from Red-Orange

Diagram 3:
Gray from Yellow-OrangeDiagram 3:
Gray from Red-Orange
Black from Yellow-Orange Black from Red-Orange
Diagram 4:
Black from Yellow-Orange Diagram 4:
Black from Red-Orange

Yellow-Orange Plus White Red-Orange Plus White

Diagram 5:
Yellow-Orange mixed with White Diagram 5:
Red-Orange mixed with White

Yellow-Orange Plus Gray Red-Orange Plus Gray

Diagram 6:
Yellow-Orange mixed with Gray Diagram 6:
Red-Orange mixed with Gray

Yellow-Orange Plus Black Red-Orange Plus Black

Diagram 7:
Yellow-Orange mixed with Black Diagram 7:
Red-Orange mixed with Black
Notice the green tinges in the Yellow-Orange flesh colors clearly depicted in diagrams 6 & 7. That touch of green is be-
cause yellow + black = green. The flesh colors do not look greener because of the orange factor.

Now that you can visually see what is happening on the digital color wheel, you can have confidence in your color
choices of flesh tones or any other color.

I must say, though, that some industrious soul actually took the time to put together a somewhat comprehensive selec-
tion of skin tones from many of the races of people all over the world and placed them online. They even went so far as
to include color swatches, thereby making it very easy for you to match your pastel colors with their supplied swatches.
For that amazing resource, just click on this ethnic fleshtones link and you will be directed straight to that fascinating
and powerful resource.

If there is still something that I missed, then enlighten me through my "Contact Us" page.

Chapter 5:
Final Thoughts

All of the discussion in the previous chapters show that, unlike some other pastellists, I do indeed have a pretty good
idea of what colors I will use in a pastel portrait long before I even begin to execute a painting and long before I even
know I am going to paint one and long before I even see who it is I am going to paint.

An Important Tip: Whatever method you use in painting, establish your routine for it before you get started. Are you go-
ing to paint from big shapes to small shapes? Are you going to paint from darks to middle tones to lights? Are you going
to "key" your painting? Are you going to ... whatever? Whichever method you use, decide these things ahead of time.
By the way, "keying your painting" simply means determining and painting the lightest and the darkest areas first, and
also doing so within each section of your painting. That way, you know that everything else you paint in that painting
from then on, must be within those pre-established parameters, otherwise, your completed painting will look like a
hodgepodge mess and you won't know why. The reason why is very simple. For example, if a pastel color you selected
for a light shadow area was applied to a “look alike shade” dark middle tone area, confusion would arise, for even
though they may look alike, you must bear in mind that, any light shadow tone is always darker than any dark middle
tone. Thumbnail value sketches will indeed assist you in your thought analysis in avoiding this sort of error.

An Important Tip: Set your boundaries before you begin your drawing/painting process. That is, make a little mark, on
your pastel paper, to indicate the placement for the top of the head or hair or hat, and determine where you are going to
cut off the person at the bottom of the painting. Will it be just below the shoulders? Will it be near the waistline? Will it
be a full-figure? Also, will it be a profile, a three-quarter, or a full-face portrait?

An Important Tip: It is much, much, much easier to copy a drawing or a painting when you are starting out in learning
how to paint, than it is to paint from a photograph. Likewise, it is very, very, very difficult to paint a portrait of someone
posing for you as a model --- unless, that is, that person is you. In which case, it is advantageous to have a large mirror
handy. So, in the beginning, just look through your magazines, art or otherwise, visit museums, gravitate to the novels
section of Christian bookstores to gaze at the pretty book covers, head for libraries in order to checkout art books with
paintings of people or go online and seek books that showcase portrait paintings you admire.

For example, whereas I prefer “realism,” you may prefer “impressionist” portraits. Either way, very good sources for
portraits are Christian journals and other like publications, for they are almost always full of beautiful custom paintings
featuring male and female, young and old, biblical characters. I have many great works of art from these books and
journals. I just use the pictures and ignore the rest for I have The TRUTH and you now have access to it. When I was a
teenager, I copied practically all of the paintings found in my Bible.

Look for Christian portraits elsewhere, too, like on greeting cards for the holidays, especially Christmas. A few years
ago, I obtained a book of great paintings from the “golden age” of commercial art in America, from the 1930’s to the
1960’s. You see some of these same paintings resurrected every Yuletide holiday season. Specifically seen every year,
are the beautiful series of paintings of Santa Claus enjoying Coca Cola. This Christmas series was so powerful back in
the 1930’s that this has become the defacto Santa of today, in that this is the Santa everyone envisions when they think
about what Santa Claus looks like.

When I see these things, I tend to buy them. They are excellent material for building your skill level by trying to copy
what these great artists did so well. I even have in my collection, a series of patriotic American art and posters, featuring
art spanning the 20th Century, from the beginning of the century through World War I (Uncle Sam pointing and saying
“I Want You”) and World War II and on through to the 1950’s. This was the age that produced such renowned illustrat-
ors such as Norman Rockwell (Saturday Evening Post covers), Andrew Loomis (Gerber Baby), Howard Chandler
Christy (Christy Girl) and others. By the way, all three (3) illustrators were born within a couple of years of each other,
and two (2) of them lived near each other. It was seeing Howard Chandler Christy's work in person that caused Andrew
Loomis to become an artist. Even so, Norman Rockwell is my favorite artist of all time. Go to your local library and see
if you can discover how these gentlemen painted so well. And while you are at it, look what modern day illustrators are
doing with computer art, and even look at computer generated movie posters as well as art for computer games. Speak-
ing of movie posters, I recently obtained a book of vintage posters, a calendar of vintage posters and a book of vintage
posters featuring actresses as models, also from the same “golden age” of commercial art in America, which I dis-
covered by accident. What a find!

Gather your own such art reference materials, for when you begin your practice sessions, you will already have a set of
pre-painted portraits as your models.

NOTE: Make sure you practice by copying portrait paintings YOU admire, for this is the style you favor and will have
enthusiasm in emulating over and over again, until you eventually develop your own unique style.

Believe it or not, in no time at all (maybe after three practice paintings), portrait painting will begin to become second
nature to you.

Are you ready to paint, now? Then, get out your supplies and proceed.

You can wake up now from reading my boring eBook, for we are finally moving on as to why you are really reading my
eBook turned website -- and that is for the tutorials.

However, before we get to the tutorials - You realize that you have read all the way to the end of my eBook, so, obvi-
ously you like it. Since that is true, then please make a donation to show your appreciation. Thank you.

Now that you have done that, let's move on to the tutorials. In the tutorials I discuss smudging, which some pastellists
do not favor for some unexplained reason. Pastellists either like smudge blending or they do not. I have only found one
instance where an artist stated why the technique is frowned upon. She said that in her case the process seems to destroy
the crystal sparkling look of the finished painting. That is her reason, but she does not say if it also applies to other
artists views.

Whereas I discuss smudge blending in the tutorials, I do not write about the pros and cons of spray fixing the finished,
or near finished, pastel painting. The major complaint against fixing is that it darkens the whole painting or parts of it.

Now, it seems that a fixative manufacturer has supposedly solved all the negatives associated with the fixing process.
You can read a review of this product from a blog of May 22, 2009 which is posted at this link . I hope you find that
blog post enlightening.

You have heard the expression from a wiseman, "Give me a fish and I can eat for a day; Teach me to fish and I can eat
for a liftime"? Well, using the same type of logic I want these pastel portrait tutorials to get you involved, for as another
wise man said, "Tell me and I forget; Show me and I remember; Involve me and I learn." The purpose here is for you to
learn how to paint pastel portraits on your own.