Painting Hair and Making it Shine with Helen Van Wyk

In this insightful painting lesson, Helen Van Wyk demonstrates the essential techniques for painting hair, showcasing how to apply basic principles to achieve natural, dynamic hair effects. She begins by explaining the importance of the "found and lost line" in creating a realistic, flowing outline and how to use brushwork rhythm to avoid rigid edges. As Helen works on portraits, she illustrates how hair should blend into the surrounding background and emphasizes color choices, revealing that all hair has underlying tones of yellow, making violet or blue the perfect complement in shadows.

Throughout the session, Helen shares anecdotes and tips, including her humorous reference to needing a "garbage lesson" and how painting is often a balance between nerve-wracking excitement and artistic mastery. She also explains how to bring shine to hair using complementary colors and introduces dimension by painting in multiple directions. Helen finishes by painting a portrait of a child, demonstrating that the same foundational techniques apply to various hair types and textures, even delicate blonde hair.

Join Helen in this captivating episode as she imparts both technical wisdom and personal stories to help you master painting hair with confidence.

Subscribe now and join Helen Van Wyk on a journey to refine your artistic techniques and discover the satisfaction of understanding and using the basic principles in your paintings, ensuring you experience the fulfillment that comes from applying Helen's teachings.

00:00 Music and Intro Graphics
01:14 Improving the Peripheral Area
04:51 Shadow Color of All Hair