Female head- Zorn palette  

A further painting of an unknown woman, from the internet, done in oils using the 'Zorn' limited palette. I have now began to use a different limited palette for future studies.

12" x 9" oil on cardboard.

June 2022

#face #head #oilpainting #woman #art #zorn

Characters from 'The Walking Dead' - Zorn palette

A collection of characters from the popular TV series, 'The Walking Dead.' Each one is painted in oils on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5", and done using the limited colour palette as designed by Anders Zorn, Victorian artist.

 Painting faces exercise 07 Zorn palette

More paintings of unknown people plucked off the internet. Each one is sized around 12” x 9.5”, and painted using the limited 'Zorn' palette.

Painting faces exercise Zorn palette. Further characters from 'On the Buses'.

A further 3 portraits of cast members from the popular 1970's TV series 'On the Buses'. From left to right can be seen Michael Anthony Robbins as Arthur Rudge, Anna Karen as Olive Rudge and Doris Breamer Hare MBE, as Ethel "Mum" Butler.

Each painting is done on cardboard sized at 12”x 9 “ and painted in oils using the limited 'Zorn' colour palette, consisting of  ivory black, Cadmium red, titanium white and yellow ochre. 

The three main characters artwork can be seen on this link. 

Painting faces exercise 06 Zorn palette

A further selection of faces of unknown people plucked off the internet. Each painting is done on cardboard, primed, and four colours used as in the 'Zorn' limited palette, as discovered by Victorian artist  Anders Zorn. Each one is sized around 12” x 9.5”.

Painting faces exercise Zorn palette 'On the Buses'

These three portraits feature some of the regular cast from the hit comedy TV series 'On the Buses' that ran from 1969 to 1973. From left to right the actors are Reg Varney as Stan Butler , Bob Grant as Jack Harper and Stephen Lewis as Inspector Cyril 'Blakey' Blake.

Painted in oils onto cardboard from a supermarket, each one sized at 12" x 9.5". The colour palette is the limited 'Zorn' one, designed by the Victorian artist, Anders Zorn. The colours are yellow ochre, ivory black, Cadmium red  and titanium white.

Summer 2021.

 Painting faces exercise 05 Zorn palette

A selection of faces painted in oils using the limited Zorn palette, one that consists of 4 colours; yellow ochre, ivory black, Cadmium red and titanium white, discovered by the Victorian artist Anders Zorn. Photos plucked off the internet were used for reference. Each one measures around 10” x 12”, and are painted on cardboard from a supermarket.

 Painting faces exercise 04 Zorn palette

A further collection of faces painted in oils using the limited Zorn palette, one that consists of 4 colours; yellow ochre, ivory black, Cadmium red and titanium white. This palette was a discovery made by the Victorian artist Anders Zorn, and suites figurative work well but has limits in landscape work as there is not way to mix strong greens/ blues. The paintings measure around the 10” x 12” and are painted on cardboard. Photos were taken off the internet to use as reference and I have no idea who they are.

 Painting faces exercise 03 Zorn palette

The panel above shows three further small portraits done from photos taken off the internet. Each one is done on paper sized at 10” x 8” and painted in oils. The exercise is to paint the face using the 'Zorn' colour palette that consists of 4 colours. This limited palette was discovered by an artist called Anders Zorn who found that these colours could be used to create a portrait or figurative subjects well. Some interiors can also work. However it is not a good system to use for landscapes as blues and greens do not exist within the palette.

 Painting faces exercise 02 Zorn palette

'Zorn' palette painting exercise

A further collection of painted faces. They are taken off the internet and I do not know who they are. Each one is painted in oils on primed paper sized at 10" x 8", and painted using the 'wet into wet' technique meaning that the paint is not allowed to dry, but the artwork is done in the one sitting. The faces are not drawn using a pencil but sketched in using paint.
Four tubes of paints are used in this exercise (yellow ochre, ivory black, Cadmium red and titanium white) using a palette known as the 'Zorn' palette, created by Anders Zorn, an artist who lived between 1860-1920.

 

 Painting faces exercise 01 Zorn palette

This post shows a number of faces plucked off the internet and painted for this exercise. Some are famous and some not. The task is just to practice painting faces. They are done on pieces of paper and board sized at 10" x 8", primed, and then done in a period 3 hrs of so, working wet in to wet. The images are not drawn with pencils in a careful way, but drawn with diluted oil paint in a rough manner, and then painted over. Often the proportions are refined as it is painted until it looks reasonably right, in the one sitting. One other important element of these exercises is that they have been done using a limited range of colours, called the Zorn palette. It is named after the Swedish artist, Anders Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920). It consists of just 4 colors being yellow ochre, ivory black, Cadmium red and titanium white. These colours suit faces very well, though landscape subjects would not work so well as blues and greens cannot be mixed.