Casein painting #3 – Portrait of an artist from 1744

"Portrait of an Artist from 1744," 9" x12", Casein
Sara Light-Waller, 2014

This is the third of my casein paintings. For this one I did an underpainting in watercolor, instead of in casein. This worked out much better. It allowed me to build less layers, and I had no trouble with the flaking paint this time. Lesson learned.

I’m finding myself using a much more painterly style for these casein paintings and this seems a good fit for me.

Along the way, I’ve added a few casein tips to my growing list.

Casein tip #6 — Don't panic, especially in the early stages of the painting. This refers specifically to building of skin tones. In the early stages, my skin tones have looked awful, green and ghastly. I took my time building opaque layers and fairly quickly, I began to get a normal skin tone. By the end, it all worked out okay.

Casein tip #7 — You really can't do without Burnt Sienna, at least when you're using full chroma.

Casein tip #8 — “They” are correct. Casein will stain a plastic palette. I’ll use a ceramic one, or a butcher tray from now on.