“Study No. 1 With Paint Labeled Caucasian Flesh Tone” oil on Canvas, 12″x16″
“Study No. 2 With Paint Labeled Caucasian Flesh Tone” oil on Canvas, 12″x16″
This post is about paint colors. Specifically, the paint color that I used in the midtones and highlights in the two portraits above. If you don’t care about pigments, then you should stop reading and look at the (hopefully) pretty paintings above. If you are a pigment junky like myself, then you should keep reading. note: I included the pigment abbreviations in parenthesis after each paint that I mention.
A few months ago, I decided to add a new Gamblin color to my pallet; Caucasian Flesh Tone (PW6, PY43, PR108). I had previously integrated a lovely pink called Blush (PW6, PR101) and I thought it was time to try out some more mixed tubes. Maybe I can improve my flesh tone consistency between sittings?
Plus I’ve had great results with Gamblin, I feel like their paint making division gets me and my aversion to safflower oil. Buttery texture is low on your priorities when your paintings take between 5 to 25 sessions in the studio.
So I put some on my pallet. The biggest surprise for me was how yellow it was. I was painting a very pale woman and a somewhat tanned man, “well I guess this will work on the guy.”
I ended up using a very tiny amount on the woman. I found that Caucasian Flesh Tone only seemed to work on flesh that was tan.
It got me thinking, I painted ladies of Korean and Indian descent before and found it difficult to keep their skin mid tones and highlights consistent. Not difficult. Time consuming. This paint looks like a match for them.
I painted 12″x16″ busts of these two ladies and found that this tube does it for the mid tones and highlights. I used Mars Black (PBk 11), Burnt Umber (PBr7), and Burnt Sienna (PR 102) for the shadows and Flake White Replacement (PW6) for glare.
In conclusion, Caucasian Flesh Tone is another great paint… I would rename it something like “Melanin Mid Tone and Highlight”. Never mind, that’s a terrible name. “Non-Caucasian Flesh Tone”? “Tan skin”? Okay, I have no idea what to call it.
Disclaimer: I do not work for or get any money from Gamblin. This post is devoid of advertisement or commercial underpinnings.
