Classic Portrait Painting in Oils

Discover a simple approach to capturing a world of beautiful skin tones

Chris Saper takes the mystery and guesswork out of portrait painting while leaving its joy fully intact. Continuing the exploration started in the her first book, Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color & Light, this sequel offers step-by-step demonstrations that cover an even wider range of ethnic groups and ages. You'll get professional advice on working from life, using reference photos, and combining the two approaches to create realistic likenesses that say something about the way you view an individual's unique beauty and character. Inside you'll find:

• A series of 14 step-by-step demonstrations of 7 diverse subjects painted from life and from photos that illustrate the advantages of each approach
• Techniques for seeing and recording accurate colors at live sittings, and retaining that accuracy when working from photographic references
• Tips on posing and lighting your subjects using both artificial and natural light sources
• Expert advice for shooting, selecting and working from reference photographs, including how to compose dynamic multiple-subject portraits
• Techniques for painting eyes, eyeglasses, mouths, wrinkles and other defining details


Though the demonstrations and examples are done in oils, Saper's techniques are universal. Regardless of your medium or skill level, the lessons inside will make painting skin colors easier, the process more enjoyable and your great results more predictable.