A fresh take on colour and light

Wangjie Li enthusiastically explores the relationship between colour and light in a portrait, with a dose of inspiration from traditional techniques

Improve your portrait skills with Wangjie Li’s help.

Digital painting tools have come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years; people can use tablets to produce works of art at home or away, with all the convenience that brings. And it’s also become easier than ever to take traditional painting techniques and apply them to the digital canvas.

I’m a young artist who approaches his work with great enthusiasm. I’m keen to take the idea of expressive elements from the Old Masters and portray them in my work, because it’s important to pass on these ideas to a new generation of art fans. In this workshop, I’ll be taking you through a step-by-step drawing of a study of a female portrait. The value of colour and lighting are the main topics that I’d like to cover, which should hopefully give you something new to consider in your artworks. Indeed, I normally like to paint with a dynamic light source as the main element in my work.

I’ve learnt the majority of my painting techniques by studying the Old Masters, and those digital artists whose art stands out from the crowd. My favourites are John Singer Sargent and Craig Mullins; you can learn much by studying their work. Recently, I’ve learnt some new techniques from Sargent’s paintings, especially his process of breaking up coolness and warmth in a painting to achieve transparency. I hope you like my interpretation of Sargent’s masterful style.