Common Surface Problems

Diamonds and Pearls

Introduction Painted jewelry can have an almost mystical quality. Done well, it seems to glow. Without a doubt, it's capable of making a strong impression on the viewer. You may do well to guide your model in the selection of the pieces to be worn, due to the various effects jewelry can have. A large, ornate necklace loaded with stones will be overpowering on a delicate young girl. Conversely, a delicate locket would look silly on a stately matron. You don't want to sacrifice your painting for the sake of an interesting piece of jewelry. The topic of jewelry is an extremely large and varied one. Even though metal is often used in jewelry, I chose to do this demonstration with pearls and diamonds, because to techniques for painting metal are similar to the ones for painting silver which is covered in the silver urn demo. The reason I chose to use pearls is that I find them useful to create interest or to use for balance. They have a special softness about them that's always flattering and that will enhance almost ant sitter. Pearls are greatly admired for their beauty; also, they can be combined well with a large variety of costumes, making them a versatile subject. Technically, pearls must be painted very accurately or they'll appear as a series of flat white discs. You must carefully use your colors to capture the form and roundness of each pearl. Diamonds, on the other hand, can be rendered more impressionistically. If you capture their brilliance and glitter, it's usually quite sufficient. As you can tell, I'll be dealing with both the subtle and the flashing components found in so much jewelry. I find this an extremely interesting combination and one especially enjoyable to paint.

Step 1. First, let me explain that even though the first two steps appear in black and white, I am really working with a basic skin color composed of a mixture of Venetian red, white, and yellow ochre. The reason I'm doing this is that pearls reflect skin tone, and I need this color as a guide for painting the various tonal values. I begin with a 1/4" flat brush and a little umber and white mixture thinned with medium. I swirl in the basic round shape of each pearl. I try to portray their size accurately, noting that they become smaller as hey approach the far left. With a #2 watercolor brush and raw umber I lay in the shadow under each pearl and to indicate the clasp setting and its shadows. Again with a #2 watercolor brush, I apply a dot of white to each pearl for the highlight. Notice that the light hits each pearl uniformly. The background is raw umber.

Step 2. I begin by thickly laying in dots of underpainting white for the diamond clusters, in the clasp with a #2 watercolor brush. I notice that some pearls - like the ones next to the clasp on the left - pick up a secondary highlight from their neighboring pearls. I lightly dab in a dot of white wherever I see this, but it won't be found on all the pearls. Since the light comes from the left, the shadowed portion of each pearl is on the right side. I now soften the shadow, being careful to not apply it to the pearl. To further give shape to the pearls, I lay in a slightly deeper shadow color along their bottom edges, following their rounded shape with my brush as I do so.

Step 3. As I mentioned in step 1, pearls reflect the tones of the skin. I therefore lightly blend my skin tone color into each pearl. I feel that all the other tones I've added to the pearls thus far have darkened them too much, so I blend white lightly into each one. As I do this, I automatically blend the other tones together. This has a twofold purpose: It lightens the color and it adds translucence. I find this far more satisfactory than trying to maintain whiteness from the beginning. I add ultramarine blue to my palette and brush it very sparingly into the shadowed portions on each of the pearls. Venetian red and white are brushed lightly into the raw umber shadows cast underneath the pearls. After doing this, I soften the edges of all the cast shadows. I blend all the colors in each pearl to create a high degree of softness, and the pearls are finished.

Step 4. I allow Step 3 to become completely dry and then cover the entire painting with painting medium. I take ultramarine blue and raw umber and thinly glaze over the tops of the diamonds. I then allow this to sit for at least 20 minutes. After that, I take a brush dipped in painting medium and go over each diamond. This removes the glaze I have just applied, leaving a vague tint of color. Now I take a #2 watercolor brush and place a think dab of underpainting white in the location of each diamond. I complete the painting by further softening the cast shadows under the pearls and the clasp.