Hair

Creating the Hair and Highlights

I began by mixing burnt sienna, yellow ochre, and ultramarine blue to build the base tones of the hair. From there, I layered in the highlights, letting lighter strokes sit softly over the darker foundation.

Hair takes practice—and then more practice—because its believability comes from multiple layers, even in a piece that isn’t fully realistic. This painting isn’t meant to look photographic, but I still wanted the hair to lean toward realism. To push it in that direction, I etched fine strands around the hairline, adding just enough detail to suggest texture and movement while keeping the overall style painterly.

Color block sections 

Add lights for dimension