This is an article with a step by step on how to paint a portrait with acrylic paint.
The first step is to get the reference photograph right. Photography and composition will have to be dealt with in another article. Meanwhile, this article is to show how the portrait of a girl develops.
This is one of my earlier works, and was a commission from a person who wanted to capture the moment of her child on holiday. The essence of the kid’s enchantment over the exotic fruits on her plate.
I have decorated the paintings to be a lot more colorful and added frangipani flowers to remind us of the holiday.
How to paint skin. The key to painting realistic skin is really just to paint with thin layers of paint. This is a different technique to oil painting, where by thick layers of paint are spread and mixed on the canvas.
Painting with acrylics can work in either way. My technique of diluting paint with water, is very much influenced by watercolor painting.
Adding simple props can make a realistic portrait painting more of a fantasy.
Detail of final painting:
