Painting a monochrome watercolour portrait: best colours to choose

Painting a monochrome watercolour portrait: you don't need all those colours in front of you to tell a story or have impact.

In fact, choosing just one colour can free you from the complications of having to think about which colours mix together well and won't end up making mud!

Leaving you free to express what it was that made you want to paint the portrait in front of you in the first place. Concentrating on the most fundamental aspect of rendering a three dimensional form on two dimensional paper: the different tonal contrasts.

 

Best colours to choose for a monochromatic watercolour portrait

First. Try to avoid painting with a ready made black pigment: there are other colours that will give you a much better variability of tone and won't look so dead or flat when dry. But. There's a but!

My recommendations are:

1. Payne's Grey.

2. Sepia.

3. For some sparkle :) try Graphite.

4. Then a rather different kind of black.

5. And then discover the magic of Dusk Violet!

 

Payne's Grey watercolour

Payne's Grey is a lovely blue based grey that can give you very pale transparent washes as well as a very deep dark.

 

 

 

 

An easy watercolour portrait in monochrome

And this easy watercolour portrait - also painted in the Van Gogh Payne's Grey - was the subject for one of my beginner watercolour classes. In this instance, my students had to paint where they wanted the colour to go with water first. Just as accurately as if they were painting with a brush full of pigment.

And then, with their brush now charged with pigment, they touched the brush to the water and let the pigment flow.

We worked with the white of the paper and three/four different tonal strengths to give just enough information to render the three dimensional form of her face.

 

Not all Payne's Grey's are the same

As with every other watercolour pigment on the market, each manufacturer has their own recipe and so a Payne's Grey or an Ultramarine blue or a Yellow Ochre etc by one will not give you the same colour on paper as another.

This is Payne's Grey too but by Maimeri: it's base is very much more blue.

 

Sepia watercolour

I had forgotten how beautiful the Sepia pigment is to paint with. One of my students chose it as the colour we would use in my watercolour class the other week, when we were going back to basics with a monochrome portrait. I fell in love all over again!

Sepia will give you a warmer and softer result than the blue of Payne's Grey.

And it has the added bonus - especially if you are are just starting out in watercolour - that it is easier than Payne's Grey to lift the pigment off the paper if you need to. (Payne's Grey doesn't like to budge once it's touched the paper.)

 

 

A monochrome watercolour portrait in Graphite

A fun colour to try is Graphite - this portrait is painted in Graphite from the Van Gogh range by Royal Talens.

When you add the pigment to water already on the paper there is an explosion of glistening activity as the tiny particles rush to move around as though they had just been let out of a starting block.

When dry, the pigment lifts so very easily - you'll find it jumping into your brush even! - so it is best to decide before you start painting where your different tonal layers - from light to darkest darks - are going to go. And when you add a second or third layer on top of another, make quite sure the previous layer is dry and try not to fiddle too much!

 

 

I know I said I don't use black, but...!

And. Having said I would avoid painting monochrome watercolour portrait in black, there is black and there is black!

I don't, as a rule like prepared black watercolour pigments. I much prefer to mix a black of my own - (how to mix black in watercolour) - as I find that it has much more life in it when it is dry. The particles in the component pigments settle at different layers within and on top of the watercolour paper and so produce variable surfaces upon which light is reflected. The result is that the painted area doesn't look so lifeless or flat.

But, when my daughter - a young artist in her own right - brings home a new watercolour, I cannot resist asking if I can give it a try. Which is what I did in this instance.

Mars black

Painting myself in her Mars Black by Winsor & Newton (Cotman range).

And OK! I own up! It is painted with two colours. But a girl has to have her lipstick! In this case, Winsor & Newton Alizarin Crimson.

 

Oxide black

This portrait entitled, "Sweet 17", is of a Facebook friend. Painted in Royal Talen's Van Gogh Oxide Black with a touch of their dreamy Dusk Pink for her lips.

Both are wonderful high granulating pigments with fantastic tonal ranges. From intense darks through to, when really watered down, delicate pale transparent washes. For best effect you will need to use a cold pressed "Not" or rough surface paper with these pigments. A smooth surface paper won't give the tiny organic particles in the pigment any dips to settle in.

 

If you like the look of that Black Oxide, take a look at what magic Dusk Violet can do in a monochrome watercolour portrait.

 

Painting a portrait in black ink

I know ink isn't watercolour, but venturing into mixed media opens up a whole new world of possibilities and you never know where experimenting will take you!

If you really want the effect of a solid, non-light transmitting black, then I would recommend trying a black ink. But! Be prepared to put your brush down with confidence strokes as there is no going back with ink once you touch the paper! You won't be able to budge it ,move it around, or lift it off like you can most watercolour pigments.

I painted this portrait of "La bella Sabina" with black India ink - Encre de Chine - made by Pebeo.

 

 

Painting a watercolour portrait in two colours - tried and tested combinations for you to try

Once you've got the hang of painting different tones in one colour, it's time for you to paint your next watercolour portrait with two!

And these colour combinations are guaranteed to give you great results.

 

 

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