I have painted a girl in a dark room, suggesting that she is sheltering from the dangers in her outside world, but I wanted to show hope with a ray of strong light falling onto her face. The light symbolizes her faith, as well as the inner power that resides within all people to help them in difficult times.

I used only transparent watercolor paints and a little bit of masking fluid for the highlights. The work was completed in 2 steps. First I painted wet on wet. The paper was completely moist from both sides. I made the first layer with major color relationships. Then after drying, I fixed the paper on a board. I continued with wet on dry approach, trying to take the tone in full strength. Special attention was paid to the face of the girl and her gesture. I also felt it was important to keep very sharp contrasts and exaggerate the light areas.

Étape 1.  After completing the drawing in outlines, I applied masking fluid in small areas to protect the highlights. Then I wet the sheet of paper from both sides and did the underpainting in rather bright colors, keeping them in balance and avoiding painting the lightest areas. I dried the lightest areas on face and body with a paper towel and then I wet all over again with plain water, avoiding the lightest areas. For the first layer, I used Sienne naturelle, Lumière jaune Hansa, Orange pyrrol et Pyrrol Scarlet for the warm areas, and added into it some Bleu outremer et Lueur lunaire. The cool areas are started with a thin wash of Sienna and then a stronger wash of Bleu cobalt and Ultramarine Blue, wet on wet.

Étape 2.  I added the mid tones, balancing warm and cool shades. Here I also added some of the dark contrasts and checked the tonal range. I continued with the background, adding darker tones with thin wash of Tiger’s Eye Genuine and a much darker application of Terre d'ombre brûlée. I also painted the shaded areas on the hands of the model. For the skin tone, I mixed Sienne naturelle et Rose d'Outremer as a major mixture that I shifted to warm or cool temperature by adding more Raw Sienna, Ocre jaune, Rouge pyrrole (to warm) or Ultramarine Blue/Bleu Verditer (to cool). At this stage, I added darker contrasts in the hair and on the neck.

Étape 3.  I worked in full tonal strength on the focal area – the face and hands of the girl. I partly removed the masking fluid and adjusted the highlights.

Étape 4.  I completed the painting with the dark background, uniting and balancing all parts. The background should help to enhance the focal point and figure. Then I removed the rest of the masking fluid and considered whether I should adjust something. Often the highlights require some adjustment.