Very restricted palette.

By the way, notice how I have forgotten to implement all I learned about painting eyes.

I use one brush for a whole painting but I must get into the habit of using a small, flexible brush if I want to introduce some life into these dead eyes.

This week we were restricted to using just TWO colours plus white !

Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue.

I can't say I enjoyed the experience but on seeing everyone else's work, it was astounding to see the variation in colours we managed.

Lost edges in pastel

Areas of the painting were to be left as mid-tone like the background colour.

This meant drawing in the brighter areas and highlights.

It was quite effective.

Eye, eye.

We had a model for our oil painting class but only had to stare at her eyes and ears.

I find eyes difficult when in a painting but much easier in isolation like this. The white of the eye is never white, is usually a different shade of grey on one side of the iris from the other due to catching the light at a different angle, is darker in a line under the shade of the eyelid and also darker in the corner of the eyes - so much to think about just for the whites of the eyes.

The iris is surrounded by a dark margin (more pronounced in young people). A "jellybean " of paler iris colour placed opposite the catchlight gives an impression of transparency and the catchlight is never white.

The lower lid is hardly painted at all.

This was a sketchier version.

The tear duct is a warm red.