Creating Realistic Flesh Tones In Your Oil Painting
Creating realistic flesh tones in your oil paintings can often run the gamut from a little difficult to downright maddening. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to rendering human flesh. However, there are a few tricks you can learn to make the job a little easier.
For starters, keep in mind that human skin is composed of reds, yellows, and blues, also known as the primary colors. When you mix these three colors in the right proportions, you get a nice shade of brown. Add some titanium white to bring out the contours and highlights and you are on your way to creating realistic looking flesh tones. I say on your way, because you are not quite there yet. There is still the issue of which reds, yellows and blues you should use.
Blues: A nice, warm blue like ultramarine blue helps to dull the brilliance of the red and yellow, keeping your skin color from looking unnatural.
Reds: Cadmium red light will give your flesh a ruddy complexion, while alizarin crimson is perfect for darker skin tones.
Yellows: Throughout the history of western art, not too many palettes have lacked yellow ochre for use in skin tones. To make it darker, try adding raw umber or burnt umber.
Beginning with lighter skin tones, take a little of the cadmium red light and mix it with yellow ochre. Then compare the bright orange mixture with the skin tone of your subject, adding more red or yellow as needed. Next, add the titanium white until you arrive at a color comparable to that of the inside of the arm or the lower portion of the cheek. What you will end up with will more than likely be too bright, so add a touch of ultramarine blue, just enough to make your mixture look more natural.
If the skin tone you are painting is darker, try the above mixture, but add ultramarine blue instead of white. You could also try experimenting with burnt umber or raw umber. Whichever color you choose, start adding it until you have a color near the value of the skin tone you are painting. At this point, the titanium white is added, giving you a more natural skin tone.
One caveat to the above: do not rely solely on white to lighten the color. Rather than a natural skin tone, you could end up with one looking pale and unhealthy. If that is not the look you are going for, try adding in some of the cadmium red light/yellow ochre mix and breathe a little life back into it.
Auspicious Wedding Feng Shui
Selecting Wedding Colors for Good Luck
As soon as a bride announces that she’s engaged, friends ask, “What are your colors?” While many women choose colors based on nostalgia or what will look good on their bridesmaids, color choice really should be taken more seriously.
When a bride plans her wedding, she pays close attention to the meaning of each detail… except color. And since everyone has such strong reactions to color, doesn’t it make sense to choose colors that are harmonious and beneficial for the couple so that their special day will be a happy one?
Colors shouldn’t be a clash of elements
When it comes to selecting colors for a wedding, it is important to consider the colors that are being paired. Many times, colors are chosen that are opposing according to feng shui. For instance, blue and yellow are often combined. This is a class between earth and water elements. Pairing opposing colors creates opposition from the start.
Harmonizing colors makes a wedding go smoothly
Think about pairing colors based on their harmony together. A good example of this is the bride a groom. Interestingly, the most harmonious and beneficial pairing of wedding colors comes from the tai chi symbol of yin and yang.
That color pairing is the colors of black and white. Black is yin (female) and white is yang (male). This is why, when a man wears a black tux, his male energy is harmonized with the female color, and when the bride wears white, her female energy is balanced with male energy.
Feng shui is often referred to as a technique for creating harmony. Harmony – in feng shui – means that colors, elements, shapes, and numbers are all supportive and beneficial for one another. It’s often used in homes and offices, but the technique can also be used for weddings.
Pick colors with auspicious meanings and that promote happiness
When it comes to matrimonial happiness, the bride and groom might want to take a cue from the Chinese. To the Chinese, red and gold together create success and harmony. These two colors together are especially auspicious for making families get along well, too. And keeping relations friendly is very something important when two families come together, often for the first time.
Weddings are happy occasions, but they can often (unfortunately) be punctuated by heightened emotions, ill feelings, and sometimes, anger. Diffuse the situation (especially if you know there are some ill feelings in the family) by creating a color palette that is harmonious and will draw positive attention toward the happy couple — rather than amplify any negative feelings. Better still, select color choices that will benefit the bride and groom and put them on the road to marital happiness.
WEDDING COLOR CHOICES CAN CREATE GOOD OR BAD LUCK
Color combinations that create BAD LUCK:
* Greens and metallic colors (white, silver, gray, gold)
* Red and blue
* Black and red
* Green and yellow
* Yellow and blue
* Red and metallic colors. Metallic colors such as white, silver, gray, or gold metals are especially unfortunate when they’re paired with red.
Color combinations that create GOOD LUCK:
* A yang color (i.e. red) with its yin version (i.e. pink) are always good,
safe choices. Others include: dark blue/light blue, purple/lavender, dark green/light green.
* Red and green (great for Christmas weddings)
* Yellow (ochre) and red (The perfect feng shui pairing for harmony)
* Metallic colors (white, silver, gray, gold) with yellow
* Greens and blues are perfect together (prosperity, growth, good health)
* Blues with metal colors (white, silver, gray, gold) are well-suited for each other.
What do certain color combinations mean?
Reds and gold (ochre)/yellow/beige: Harmony and prosperity, good luck and happiness
Black and white: male and female, harmony
Green and purples (can be lavenders or light purple): Growth, longevity and wealth
Metal colors: Creativity/children
Yellow and white: Heaven and earth
Green and blue: Growth and wealth
Red and green: Happy luck and success
Black and green: Wealth, growth and longevity
Especially auspicious color combinations:
* gold & purple (great wealth),
* silver & purple (great wealth),
* green & purple (great abundance),
* purple & white, (harmony of yin and yang)
* purple & black (career and financial success)
The Extreme Makeover Wedding
The television show Extreme Makeover had guests who got married at the end of the show. The couple chose red and gold as their wedding colors. They were most noticeable on the wedding cake, which unfortunately, is not in any of the photos. The wedding part, however, wore gold dresses and the flowers were beautiful red roses. For a look at the combination, click here.