Stage 7
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From here on in it requires time and patience. First build up the shadow area on the dress with Paynes Grey and the highlights with white. Then glaze again with crimson. The face is painted with a mix of White, Yellow Ochre and a touch of Crimson in different quantities to lighten or darken as required with Burnt Sienna added for the redder areas in shadow. The headdress had Paynes Grey added to provide the shadow and then washes of Cadmium Yellow and Naples Yellow to build the colour up steadily. Across her forehead and down the right hand side I added a thin wash of Raw Umber and when that dried added the recesses by mixing Raw Umber and Paynes Grey. I did not try to copy van Eycks original pattern but simply let my brush dance around in what seemed a reasonable way to produce something similar. Where I felt it was too dark I lightened it with yellow or white as seemed most appropriate. The hair was painted with Raw Umber and the highlights were raw Umber/Burnt Sienna mixed. The pattern of the 'hairnet' was added in pencil. The fur collar was again Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna and white applied in various mixes using a small paint brush in short strokes to represent fur and the same technique was used around the cuff. Finally the hardest part, the hand, was painted using the same mixes as the face. It wasn't until I was actually handing this picture over to the purchaser however that I realised it was a lot darker than the face so try to highlight it rather more than I did. And that's it. Take care with the eyes and mouth. The mouth in particular is hard to do as lips can appear very hard and over large so I approached this with a 'less is more' attitude and tried to only suggest they are there rather than painting detail. As with the hairnet you may find it easier to 'paint' them in with watercolour pencils and just soften them with a brush of water. Don't forget the catch light in the eye which really brings the face to life. This is by no means an easy project to
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