Beautiful Portrait Painting in Oils: Keys to Mastering Diverse Skin Tones and More [Paperback]

How to paint oil portraits like the Old Masters

Mona Lisa. Girl with a Pearl Earring. Madame X. The infinite variety and beauty of humankind--like the mysteries behind sparkling eyes, a sly smile or an averted gaze--has captivated artists since the beginning of time. This expanded edition of Chris Saper's best-selling guide, Classic Portrait Painting in Oils, reveals keys for mastering how to paint beautiful portraits in oil to create soulful works of art. Through easy-to-follow lessons and expert oil painting tips and techniques, you'll find secrets for working from life, using reference photos and more to create rich, realistic portraits imbued with timeless character.

   • 14 step-by-step demonstrations teach how to paint 7 diverse subjects of varying skin tones from life and from photographic reference
   • Additional exercises reveal expert oil painting techniques for defining facial details, like eyes, mouths, wrinkles, facial hair and eyeglasses
   • Professional tips for working from life, including ideal session times, posing, seeing and mixing color and even how to work with children
   • The basics of using natural, artificial, creative and "Rembrandt" lighting to light your subject and convey a mood
   • Expanded key concepts of "perfect practice," the importance of regularly painting subjects in real time and an insistence on excellent photographic reference material, including a checklist for how to take--and self-edit--your own quality photos
   • New material on how to approach and execute paid commissions, includilÃ*