Base coat is applied to the following areas:
• Skin tone
• Hairstyle
• Eyes
• Background
Skin Tone:
Generally I start with flat base coats first, here I am using readily available Flesh tint for skin color and I have kept blank spaces for eyes, nose, lips and hair.
Hairstyle:
Frieda’s hairstyle is a little complicated to paint so I have come up with this idea of drawing lines showing hair direction first in black color and then I will apply the darkest brown on top of it. Acrylic color gives transparent effect if diluted with water and can be used to achieve different effects. Also I have applied base colors for flowers in her hair and then added shades and highlights to give it a 3D effect.
Eyes:
Eyes are the most important and crucial feature if you painting a portrait because the focus of the portrait painting is usually on the eyes. Here I have used 2 shades of brown and yellow ochre, diluted with water to achieve transparency and depth.
Background:
In all kind of paintings, background is also evenly important as it enhances the beauty of the main character in the painting. Here I am using shades of blue for the background because of two main reasons. First Frieda lived in a house, which was painted in blue, and second it is in contrast with the colors I am using for portrait.