How to Add Raw Umber Dark & Ultramarine Blue to Your Portrait

Unlock the secrets of acrylic glazing: create depth and realism with dark glazes

When working on an acrylic portrait, the strategic use of dark tones like raw umber dark and ultramarine blue can elevate your painting, adding depth, contrast, and a sense of realism. This post will guide you through the process of incorporating these colors into your work using the acrylic glazing technique.

Why Glazing Is Essential for Realistic Portraits

Glazing is a powerful technique where thin layers of paint are applied over dried layers, creating luminous and transparent effects. By using glazes of darker colors such as raw umber dark and ultramarine blue, you can effectively add shadows and nuances that enhance the three-dimensionality of your portrait. These darker hues provide the balance needed to highlight lighter areas, making the portrait more dynamic.

As what I have mention in this painting process of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, “You can’t appreciate the light until you have the dark.” This concept applies to both life and art. The contrast between light and shadow gives a painting its life, much like how challenges define our growth.

Applying Raw Umber Dark and Ultramarine Blue

Step 1: Prepare Your Palette

Begin by setting up your palette with raw umber dark and ultramarine blue. These are ideal for creating natural shadow tones and deepening the values of your painting. Mix them with a glazing medium to maintain their transparency and to build gradual layers of color. It’s important to avoid opaque mixes, as the goal is to subtly darken areas without losing the underlying details of the painting.

Step 2: Select Areas for Darkening

Identify the areas in your portrait that require more depth, typically shadows along the figure’s contours. For example, in the painting of the video, I darkened the areas around Aaron’s back and the surrounding rocks. These sections are vital to grounding the subjects in the scene and providing contrast with lighter areas.

As you apply the glaze, remember to work in layers. “You can’t have big muscles without resistance,” I explained, drawing a parallel between the perseverance required in life and painting. Similarly, layering glazes creates rich shadows that bring depth to your painting.

Step 3: Work Slowly, Let the Layers Build

Glazing is a slow process, but patience pays off. As you apply each glaze, wait for it to dry before adding more. This technique is essential to avoid muddying the paint and to maintain the clarity of your layers. For the raw umber dark and ultramarine blue mix, you’ll want to focus on the darkest parts of your composition, like the creases in fabric or the deep shadows under the chin and neck.

For instance, when I worked on the clouds and sky in the background, I spread the glaze of ultramarine blue to darken the clouds, providing a rich contrast that made the light areas stand out even more. “We can’t appreciate the light until we have the dark,” I noted as I work, blending the dark glaze seamlessly into the composition.

Tips for Successful Glazing

1. Use a Soft Brush:
   A soft brush allows you to apply thin, even layers without disturbing the paint underneath. This is crucial for glazing, where transparency is key.
2. Test on a Scrap Surface First:
   Before applying your glaze directly onto your portrait, test your mix on a separate surface to ensure the transparency and color are just right.
3. Focus on Gradual Changes:
   Build up the dark areas slowly to maintain control over how much shadow you’re introducing. One of the benefits of glazing is the ability to adjust the depth gradually, so don’t rush the process.
4. Blend the Edges:
   When applying the glaze, blend the edges softly to create a smooth transition from light to dark. Harsh lines can disrupt the realism of your portrait.
5. Consider the Overall Composition:
   When adding dark glazes, ensure they fit into the overall lighting of your painting. Shadows should match the direction of your light source, adding to the coherence of the piece.

The Impact of Ultramarine Blue in Portraits

Ultramarine blue is a versatile color in portrait painting. Its cool tone makes it perfect for creating shadows that contrast with warm skin tones. When mixed with raw umber dark, it achieves a balanced, natural shadow effect, ideal for portraying depth in human figures and backgrounds alike.

In my painting, the combination of these two colors on the rock surfaces and the garments of Moses, Aaron, and Hur emphasized the figures’ prominence and their position in the scene. The shadows darkened by ultramarine blue glaze heightened the contrast, drawing the viewer’s eye to the central action.

Achieving Caravaggio-Like Effects

For artists aiming for a dramatic, chiaroscuro effect in their portraits, studying the techniques of masters like Caravaggio can be highly beneficial. Caravaggio often worked with dark grounds and built up the light in his paintings, using deep shadows to highlight the brightness of his subjects. I mentioned his intention to incorporate a similar approach by using a raw umber-toned background and adding glazes over it to create depth.

Final Thoughts: Perseverance in Art and Life

Adding raw umber dark and ultramarine blue glazes to your portrait is not just about enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your work. It’s a metaphor for the perseverance needed in both art and life. As I always remind you, “Trials produce perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work.”

By patiently applying layers of glaze and embracing the challenges of the painting process, you’ll eventually see the fruits of your labor: a portrait rich in contrast, depth, and meaning.

Glazing with raw umber dark and ultramarine blue provides a powerful method to enhance shadows and add realism to your acrylic portrait. This technique, combined with patience and perseverance, will allow your work to reach new levels of depth and detail.

Watch the video below to learn more about adding raw umber dark and ultramarine blue to battle scene painting.

LEARN MORE:

• Adding highlights to your acrylic painting
• 5 Excellent Reasons to Use Aluminum Foil
• Paint Realistic Wrinkles in Acrylic
• Painting Clothing in an Acrylic Portrait
• Paint a Cloudy Sky Acrylic  
•  How to add Semi-Opaque Highlights
• How to Enhance the Contrast in Your Acrylic
• How to Add Glaze to Your Acrylic Painting
• Paint Realistic Reflections on Eyeglasses in an Acrylic Portrait
• Build Up Depth on Your Acrylic Portrait Backgrounds
• How Do You Do Layers With the Glazing Technique?
• Learn How to Paint Wrinkles in Acrylic

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

 

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

 

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