I’ve included the reference photo and my first two attempts below. I think we’ll start by doing some color matching to get a feel for the skin colors in the light and shade and maybe a couple of preparatory sketches of her features – her eyes and mouth.
Here’s my first take on this. Didn’t try for a likeness but concentrated on getting the colors and values. (I’m actually working from a slightly different print and my colors are shifted more to yellow.)
Materials
Colors:
Lemon yellowYellow ochre
Permanent rose/quinacridone rose or alizarin crimsonCadmium red/vermillion/naphthol red
Ultramarine
Burnt Sienna
Black
Brushes
I’ll be using a 10 round for most things.
Possibly a smaller round brush for detail if your larger round doesn’t point well. A larger brush for the background could be useful but not essential.
Paper
Good paper for the main portrait. Larger rather than smaller (I’ll be on 11″x14” paper) as the feature details can get very small.
Student paper for the exercises.
Take 2 – better drawing helps.