How to paint dark hair in watercolor
From the painting, "Members of the Wedding"
Studying my reference photo, I decide upon highlights and color shifts, then wet the area and drop color into the desired places. In this painting, I'm using a high key triad of purple magenta, gamboge (or Indian yellow) and manganese blue.
In places where the hair is very dark I add a more concentrated yellow.
In places where the hair is very dark I add a more concentrated yellow.
After letting it dry thoroughly, I add some of the local color (local color is the basic color of the object) in a light wash, (which I make with quinacridone burnt orange and phthalo blue) and punch up the highlight colors a bit. After this stage is dry, I take a 2B pencil and draw in some of the shapes I want the hair to follow. I can't tell from the reference photo just exactly where her curls go, so I draw in what I consider a pleasing arrangement, being careful to keep the highlights in mind.
I continue to add local color following the contours of the curls and her head, occasionally lifting out a lighter spot with a thirsty brush. The hair around the face is not painted in at this stage.
In order to continue with the hair, I must paint her face, neck and shoulder, which I do and when that is dry, add the hair that is around her face, the nape of her neck and her ear. Darkening the hair is fun because the pattern has been established and now I can forget about my reference photo and let some shapes appear as the color darkens. I find that switching to a synthetic brush for this stage is helpful. Now I'm paying more attention to the darkest places and the depth of the curls. For the stray hairs around her face and nape, I use a rigger brush.
Continuing to darken her hair finding interesting patterns of hair and curls
While her hair was drying, I added some more color to her skin. Then comes the fun part. I love this stage because suddenly your painting comes alive. The paper is bone dry now and I take a small, straight edged scrubby brush, dampen it and gently pull out the lightest highlights.
I hope this little tutorial has been helpful to you. Please, if you have fun with it, or have some success with the method, let me know. I'd love to hear from you.
I hope this little tutorial has been helpful to you. Please, if you have fun with it, or have some success with the method, let me know. I'd love to hear from you.