Painting the Adult Human Head

This head has been built up of 4 layers of watercolor glaze in a technique that is identical to the first exercise we did when painting the barn. Layers of transparent paint are built up to create the sense of depth and value. The first stage fills almost all of the paper except those areas that will remain white. The second fills all areas of shadow seen on the head. Each of the next two stages adds small areas of shadow over the previous.

Mouse over the image to see only the new layer that has been applied in each of the stages.