Portrait Painting, Two Masters, Week 1

This is my second portrait painting class with Mariana Carreras. In this class we will be studying the works of two masters, Rembrandt and Frida Kahlo. I am working in oils.

For week one, we started studying Rembrandt. In doing that, we tried to create a painting with contrast between light and dark, focusing details on what we want to show, and subduing the details of what is not the focus.

The painting I am posting here is not complete, by any means. This is the result of the first of three classes we will spend on it. In fact, this is simply the underpainting, or grisaille.