This was one of those odd portraits where the face is the easiest part and everything else is more challenging. I loved the reference photo the instant I saw it, and I combed though Freddie pictures on Pinterest for at least a half hour. I am picky when it comes to reference photos, and I always try to find pictures where my subjects seem to be the purest version of themselves, and this is a great example. It's a 1986 photo by Denis O'Regan from Getty Images, and it looked like a painting all by itself. A watercolor too, no less!

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Colors used: cadmium yellow light, cadmium yellow medium, alizarin crimson, flesh tint, cadmium red light, blue deep, and dioxazine mauve, and sepia, all by Old Holland. Opera by Holbein. Cobalt violet and cobalt blue by Winsor & Newton (Cotman range; I just like how warm that blue is compared with other cobalts I've tried).

Paper: 14"x10" 140 lb. cold-press watercolor paper by Arches.

Masking fluid: Incredible White Mask Liquid Frisket

Brushes: #1 American Painter 4000 round, #6, #4, and #12 round brushes by Escoda Perla Sintetico. 3/4" flat brush by Sax.

Preliminary drawing: 4H drawing pencil by Derwent.

Palette: Eldajon from Jerry's Artarama

Nail polish: Sally Hansen Color Therapy in Slicks and Stones. :)

Music: "Groove Grove" and "Dreams Become Real" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Music: Inspirational Piano Works 1 by marcozannone
Music at at Pond 5 https://www.pond5.com