Watercolor portrait painting tutorial with layering technique, watercolor crayons and wax paper cut-out
November 6, 2012 2019-02-06 13:28Watercolor portrait painting tutorial with layering technique, watercolor crayons and wax paper cut-out
![Layering watercolor to paint portraits on ARTiful, painting demos by Sandrine Pelissier](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Layering-watercolor-to-paint-portraits-on-ARTiful-painting-demos-by-Sandrine-Pelissier-1.png)
Watercolor portrait painting tutorial with layering technique, watercolor crayons and wax paper cut-out
This is a portrait of my youngest daughter I painted some time ago. My daughter has a fascination for space exploration and wants to learn as much as she can about that subject, of course she wants to be a cosmonaut!I like to paint portraits that are telling a story, they are like illustrations of a book that the viewer has to make up. I also wanted that painting to talk about the magic of youth and the feeling that you have so many options possible for your future.
Here are the steps I took to paint this portrait:
![drawing on paper and preserving whites](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/drawing-on-paper-1024x693.jpg)
This is my drawing on Arches paper, I did preserve some whites with resist mainly for the eyes and patterns in the background
![resist for the white of the eyes](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/preserving-whites-with-resist.jpg)
I applied resist on the white of the eyes and for the highlight on the eye, as well as along the face where the light makes the skin appear white.
I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.
![]() |
Daler-Rowney Masking FluidThis fluid is used to create striking white highlights or to mask areas for overpainting at a later stage. It forms a fast-drying, water-resistant film on watercolor paper and board, and is easily removed when dry. |
![separating colors by layering with watercolors](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/portrait-painting-watercolor.jpg)
I am starting by painting a layer with yellow watercolor ( yellow Ocher and Lemon yellow)
![wax paper cut-out](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cutting-out-wax-paper-shapes-for-watercolor.jpg)
I am cutting out a few shapes in wax paper and will place them on the yellow watercolor layer in the background while the paint is still wet.
![background with resist and wax paper cut-out](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cut-out-wax-paper-shapes-on-wet-paper.jpg)
Here is a close-up of the background with resist and cut-out wax paper shapes. I want the background to be somewhat between a wall paper and a representation of my daughters thoughts.
![red, pink and orange layer](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/watercolor-portrait-painting.jpg)
Once the yellow layer has dried I paint a layer with different tones of red, aiming for variations that go from orange to more pink tones of red,
I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.
![]() |
Yarka St. Petersburg Professional Watercolor PansSame palette of traditional colors the great masters used a century ago. Liquid-poured means semi-moist pans respond instantly to a wet brush. 24 pans in plastic case. Also individual pans. – Master Set |
![Watercolor and watercolor crayons on paper](https://paintingdemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/neil-Armstrong.jpg)
The last layer is a layer of blue, I am also using different tones of blue, from Ultramarine blue to Prussian blue. I accentuate the blue highlight on the hair, I then work on the background adding more definition to the patterns with watercolor crayons. You can see faint patterns where the wax paper cut-out were placed.
Comments (2)
silvia
wax paper wewre simply put on the watercolor paper or glued?
Sandrine Pelissier
Wax paper cut-outs were simply placed on the paper, they stick to it because the paper was still wet.