Classic Children’s Portraits in Oil

Class Preview

Paint beautiful portraits of children that capture the vibrant spirit of youth!

Picking Your Subject

Meet your instructor, oil painter and fine art teacher Nanette Fluhr. Class begins with an overview of the techniques you’ll develop over the next six lessons, followed by Nanette’s expert guidance for working with your subject. Choose the composition, mood and expression you want to capture as you decide whether you’ll work from a photo or from life.

The Color Note

Explore color options as you learn what a color note is and how it’s used in art. Nanette breaks down the basics of color theory to help you understand hue, chroma and value, and the importance that they play in creating a finished piece. Next, you’ll lay in the background, working with a range of values as you paint to create a polished base for your sketch.

The Line Drawing

Discover the importance of line drawings, and how to begin placing your subject’s major proportions and features on your canvas. Nanette shares tips for capturing children’s facial features accurately, and helps you envision the anatomy of the skull to help inform your drawing as your work. You will also refine the composition and framing of your piece as your drawing takes shape.

The Underpainting

Translate your line drawing into an underpainting that lays in the major elements and values for your completed piece. Work with medium to create the perfect blend of gloss and friction between your paintbrush and the canvas, and focus on the light and shadow in your composition. Nanette shows you how to add or wipe paint away to create dark and light areas, and shares helpful troubleshooting tips to hide mistakes.

The Color Lay-In

Bring a splash of color into your work as you mix the hues you want and apply them to your underpainting. Nanette demonstrates how to mix a variety of skin tones that will look realistic instead of contrived, and shares ways to identify key shifts in hue and chroma that will inform your painting.

Furthering the Painting

Begin to refine your painting as you learn how to add defining details and blend your values to create smooth transitions between light and dark. Nanette shares tips on making a more dimensional and professional-looking piece, focusing on ways to sharpen or soften edges to pull the focus where you want the viewer’s eyes to go.

Finishing the Portrait

Add the final details that will bring your subject to life, considering how the elements in the background, middle ground and foreground stand out or blend together. Nanette shares helpful methods for adding life to a child’s eyes and shading nostrils in a subtle, accurate way. Next, you’ll learn how to add a glaze or try a method called scumbling for subtle additions of color and light. You’ll finish the class with a stunning oil portrait that captures the unique personality of your cherished subject.