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The colors
The most important thing and the biggest problem with watercolors is the amount of water you used. Other important factors include the kind and weight of paper, the weather, etc.
Personally, I never work without my paper kitchen roll next to me. I push the tip of the brush onto the paper towel in order to obtain the right amount of water for the part I want to paint. You only obtain this result by practicing again and again. Hard, but worth it.
The colors
This portrait is simple as to the use of color. The skintone is yellow ochre and cadmium light red. Use less paint and more water for the lightest parts, and less water and more paint for the deeper values. The shadow on the nose is obtained by adding burnt sienna.
As to the hair, again yellow ochre with a dash of burnt sienna, with more water. The part of the hair that is darker was obtained with a small quantity of purple, together with the skin colors. The background consists of watery yellow ochre with cerulean blue, and diagonally, a touch of purple.
The initial wash is ready now, but I don't wait for it to dry but continue as soon as possible, so the surface is neither too wetnor too dry. I then check the general image and compare. I look at the shadow and the transitions, and continue just as I began, from the point that needs to be worked on. The result of the final wash is that many parts are left untouched.
It is absolutely not my intention to paint over the whole portrait. If you do this, it means that you didn't use enough color the first time.
I now paint the color of the eyes and the eyelids, and add some color to the upper lip, somewhat darker, and let this color run over the shadow part of the upper lip towards the nose. The corners of the mouth are accentuated and pulled over towards the cheeks. I darken the left and the right side of the hair where it is necessary. I accentuate the purple part in the background, adding also a streak of orange over the darkened part of the hair in order to accentuate the color.
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