Advance painting
Assignment 1
Portrait with complementary colors
Student examples
Complementary colors
Complementary colors are opposite of each other on the color wheel. For example: Blue/Orange,
Yellow/Purple, and Red/Green. Complementary colors placed beside each other in a composition, will
create contrast, vibration and drama. Complementary colors mixed together will begin to dull each other or
neutralize each other, creating grays & browns.
Examples of complementary colors
Image 1, Create a value scales using 9 values including white and black. The size of the scale should be 1”
x 9”. Use water color paper and mount in you sketch book. See example below.
Image 2 Create two value scales using 9 value one for each complementary color. The size of the scale
should be 1” x 9”. Use water color paper and mount in you sketch book. See example below.
Tint-A color with white
Shade-A color with black
Image 3- Create a color scale using 9 spaces and mixing the complementary colors. See example below
Image 4 Create a portrait painting using two complementary colors. Incorporate the tints, shades and tones
of the two complementary colors you have selected.
Materials: acrylic paint, 16” x 20” canvas panel, paint brushes, vine charcoal and spray fixative
Until the invention of the camera in the early nineteenth century, portraiture, whether painted, engraved, or drawn,
was the only way that physical likenesses could be preserved. The portrait may serve either as an opportunity for
serious exploration or merely as a chance to work one’s technical prowess.
Select one of the following as a direction in creating your portrait painting:

Objective portrait depiction of the subject exactly the way it is observed, free from distortion and
interpretation.

Idealized portrait in general, it means a restructuring of features to conform to a concept of perfection and a
minimizing of all irregularities.

Psychological portrait create the illusion of penetrating the surface to reveal inner aspects of personality.

Caricature portrait is a picture in which certain features or mannerisms are exaggerated for a satirical
effect.
Things to think about as you create this painting:

How will the portrait be cropped? Will the portrait be face only, face and shoulders or head to waist line?

Will the portrait face forward, face in profile, or three quarter profile?

Think and develop your background/negative space. What color will you use? Will it be painterly or solid?
Will there be any symbols? Is there an environment to the portrait?

How will you use, horizontal, vertical and diagonal directional lines, edges and or shapes?
For your sketch book:
a. Create two pencil studies before you start painting. Is it essential to plan a painting in thorough detail
before you start, or should you let it develop as you go along? Planning a painting can be a help as you
know exactly what you're going to do, but it could also inhibit spontaneity. Letting a painting evolve as you
work is very free and lets you be spontaneous, but also leaves you open to the possibility that the painting
won't go anywhere and you'll end up with a mess. Ultimately the degree to which you plan out a painting
depends on your personality; some people find it essential and others a hindrance. But regardless of how
detailed you like to plan (or not), there are several decisions that have to be made before you to start to
paint.
b. Take a 4” x 6” digital image of the final painting and place (glue) into the sketch book. The digital
image of your painting can be made at the Regis copy center. Make sure your digital image is in focus,
squared off and color and value are comparable to original painting.
c. Describe your painting in a typed paragraph and place (glue) into your sketch book. You will make
observations about what you see. You must be objective. For this part please make no inferences or express
opinions. You are going to create a list of what you see. List only the facts about the artwork and write a
paragraph base on this list:
Subject matter: objective portrait, idealized portrait, psychological portrait or caricaturee
portrait
Medium: acrylic,
Style: impressionism, expressionism, hard edge, pop art, abstract expressionism, photorealism, pointillism,
Technique: opaque, transparent, painterly, flat, combination, etc.
d. Analyze your painting in a typed paragraph and place (glue) into your sketch book. How do you
compose or design (organize) your painting? This is where your knowledge of the elements of design and
the principles of design play an important role. The combinations of these, elements and principles help the
artist create the mood of the work or express a particular point of view or message. Base this paragraph on
this list:
Design elements: line, shape, value, color, size, direction, texture
Design Principles: repetition and rhythm, dominance and subordination, unity and variety,
contrast, balance, emphasis, scale and proportion
Student examples:
Student examples:
Laying out your portrait in proportion: