The Portrait Myth: Why Faces Aren’t as Hard as You Think

There’s a misconception that portraits are the hardest subject, but in all honesty they really aren’t. It’s just about looking at shapes, understanding value and layering like every other subject. The same principles you use to paint a landscape or a flower apply to faces too.

When you squint at a portrait reference, what do you see? You see light and shadow creating form. You see warm tones against cool tones. You see areas that need to stay loose and areas that need a bit more attention. It’s exactly the same process.

It’s All About Shapes

The secret is to stop seeing it as “a nose” or “an eye” and start seeing it as shapes and values. That shadow under the cheekbone? It’s just a dark shape. The highlight on the tip of the nose? Just a light shape. When you break it down like this, portraits become less intimidating and actually quite exciting to paint.

Building the Foundation

I build my portraits the same way I build everything else: foundation first, then layers, then those final expressive marks that bring it all to life. Starting with a tonal underpainting helps me establish where my lights and darks live, then I can play with colour on top without losing that vital structure.

The Joy of Working in Series

The beauty of working in a series is that each portrait teaches you something new. You start to understand how skin tones work, how to capture expression without overworking, how a few confident brushstrokes can suggest so much more than fussy detail ever could.

Have You Ever Painted a Portrait?

Maybe you’ve been curious about portraits but felt nervous about giving it a go. Or perhaps you’ve tried before and found it frustrating. Either way, I want to share some practical tips that have helped me and my students approach portrait painting with more confidence and joy.

Practical Tips for Painting Portraits

Start with a Simple Tonal Study

Before you dive into colour, try creating a simple value study in just one colour and water. This takes the pressure off getting skin tones right and lets you focus purely on capturing the structure of the face through light and shadow. Map out where your darks, mid-tones and lights live. This foundation is so important.

Squint Constantly

I know I’ve mentioned this already, but it really is your best friend when painting portraits. Squinting helps you see the big shapes and values without getting distracted by every tiny detail. If you can’t see it when you squint, you probably don’t need to paint it. This simple habit will save you from overworking and keep your portraits fresh and alive.

Think Temperature, Not Just Tone

Skin isn’t just light or dark, it’s warm and cool. Shadows often lean cooler with hints of blue or violet, while highlighted areas tend to be warmer with peachy or golden tones. Pay attention to where warm and cool colours dance across the face. This is what makes portraits feel dimensional and real, not flat.

Let Some Areas Stay Loose

Not everything needs to be in sharp focus. In fact, the most interesting portraits often have areas that are beautifully loose and expressive. Maybe it’s the hair, the clothing, or even parts of the background. By keeping some areas soft and suggestive, you draw the eye to your focal point, which is usually around the eyes and the centre of the face.

Work Big to Small

Start with the big shapes first. Block in the overall head shape, the placement of features, the large areas of shadow. Only once these are working should you start thinking about smaller details. So many people jump straight to painting the eyes perfectly and then wonder why the whole thing doesn’t hold together. Big shapes first, always.

Don’t Fear Colour

Skin tones don’t have to be boring beiges and browns. Look closely and you’ll see pinks, oranges, yellows, even greens and purples in the shadows. The Impressionists knew this. They painted skin with vibrant, expressive colour and their portraits absolutely sing. Give yourself permission to be bold with colour and see what happens. This is my favourite thing to do.

Use a Limited Palette

You don’t need dozens of colours to paint a beautiful portrait. In fact, limiting your palette often leads to more harmonious results. Try working with just a warm and cool version of each primary colour, plus white. Something like cadmium red, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, lemon yellow (or hansa yellow in my fav!), ultramarine blue and phthalo blue will give you everything you need to mix gorgeous skin tones.

Trust the Process

Portraits can look absolutely dreadful in the early stages, and that’s completely normal. Don’t judge your painting too early. Trust that as you build up your layers, adjust your values and refine your colour, it will come together. Some of my favourite portraits looked like absolute disasters halfway through. Keep going.

Your Turn

So if you’ve been thinking about trying portraits but felt nervous, I’d really encourage you to give it a go. Apply everything you already know about painting and trust the process. You might surprise yourself.

What subjects have you been painting lately? I’d love to hear what’s inspiring you right now, let me know in the comments.

Happy painting,

Michelle ✨