How to paint Botticelli's Venus. Renaissance Painting Portraits Tutorial

Hi, my name is Antonis and I am the painter of this video. Today I will paint a famous detail from The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. I will show you how I paint this painting step by step and I will try to explain the process so that you can try it yourself and learn something out of this great master Sandro Botticelli. Thank you all for being here and for subscribing to this channel. If you find this content helpful please consider subscribing if you haven't yet and more videos like this are about to be uploaded. So, for painting the Venus of Botticelli, first I make a drawing. To make this drawing I am printing a detail of... I am printing the head of Venus and I try to draw it myself on a piece of paper. For this drawing method I will make another video and I will explain it step by step. If you are not comfortable with your drawing skills you can directly transfer the printed paper on your board and paint from that. It's better though to do your drawing yourself because this will help you when you later paint the portrait. You will be more familiar and it will be easier for you. Anyway, I begin this tutorial with having my draw prepared. Again, there will be another tutorial on how I draw anything I want. I transfer the drawing on my wood panel and then I start the painting process. First I paint with a thin black line the outlines of my drawing so that these outlines will be visible later on when I paint my, let's say, greenish base of the face and brownish base on the hair. And after I paint these black outlines I will first start painting my background, as you saw me here painting already. After having painted the background according to my reference, like in this case a soft blue that reminds the sky against which Venus is being born. After this I will start painting my base for the face and the hair. For the hair I use a warmer yellow-brown color as a base and for the face I've used a green-brown light color. Again, I don't have any recipes, I try to understand how the old master here has painted and I'll try to paint it myself. For the base of the hair I've used yellow, some ocher red and some black. For the base of the face I've used some yellow, ocher, titanium white and a little bit of red. And after I make these two bases I start painting the darker facial characteristics, as they are called grapsimata in the Byzantine tradition. I will paint these darker characteristics with a color that I make with red, black and some ocher. Now, this step is very very important. You see that when I'm painting the base of the face I try to make it as transparent as possible in order to see the black lines underneath. This base should not be very transparent, but it shouldn't be very thick as well. It should allow the darker lines to be visible. So, on top of these darker lines I'm starting painting my dark facial characteristics. This step is extremely important, I think it's the most important step, because here you will establish the correct drawing and the facial characteristics. You have to be not in a hurry and pay extra attention to your reference, observe it carefully and see how exactly the world master has drawn these darker elements. Feel free to blend these darker elements with your base color and take as much time as you need to make it look professional and nice. Do not be in a hurry to proceed to the next step. When you feel comfortable with painting these darker, the shadowy parts of your painting, proceed, move on to painting the first layer of light on the face. Again, this is a very important step, painting this first light. Take your time, do not be in a hurry and try to understand the forms and the shapes that the world master has painted with this light color. I work, of course, with egg tempera. Egg tempera is a very smooth and amazing medium. It's very possible that the Venus painted by Botticelli is painted on canvas with egg tempera. To prepare this light color I've used Titanium White, Red and Ochre. Proceed slowly and try to paint on the tip of your brush stroke as much as you can. Try to make the consistency of your color right. It shouldn't be too runny, it shouldn't be too watery. The color should have some power and should have the power to cover the green-brown base. Here you see me blending this first light to the base. I'm doing a first blending just to have an idea of how my painting is going. Work in thin lines and as much on the tip of your brush as possible. This is very very important. Normally, before I'm doing any blending, I paint all my painting with this first light. And then I'm doing the blending to the base. I try to observe the light on the neck, how Botticelli has painted the shadows and the light there. And I try to be as faithful as possible. You can see me painting on the tip of my brush here. This really made me appreciate egg tempera more. Because this way of working is almost impossible when working with acrylic. Well, maybe not impossible, but I don't think it's as satisfying as when you work with egg tempera. You get this silk effect and it's so smooth and so nice. So here you see me just trying to blend the light with the base color. For this I use various degrees of... various tones, in-between tones. And with these tones I try to blend the way I believe I should. Try to compare the tones and the lights and the shadows on the reference that you use. And try to transfer these relationships correctly on your painting. Here you see me painting the mouth. Take your time and try to analyze in your mind the process that the master painter has painted the mouth. I try to have Botticelli teach me how he painted the mouth. I don't have any book saying me that this is step number one, this is step number two. I just try to use my eyes and understand what he has done there. If your drawing is correct, then it's hard to be very mistaken. So it's really important to make a drawing that is correct and precise. And again, feel free to just use a drawing directly from a printed paper. In the past I didn't advise this to my students. But as I get older I believe that the pleasure of painting is great and we shouldn't restrain ourselves from painting, even if our drawing skills are not the best. So jump right in and paint even if you're not confident with your drawing skills. Just enjoy mixing colors and painting whatever you like. Of course it is preferable to draw a head yourself, but it's really not necessary. As you see, I take my time when I'm painting the mouth. I'm not in a hurry. Until I make it in a way that satisfies me and seems close to the prototype. Again, when you paint something so iconic, like the face of Venus, you should be careful to not distort the expression and to keep her facial characteristics as close to the prototype as possible. I think this is the challenge here, to not make a face that doesn't look like the prototype, just because everybody knows the face of Venus and we have seen it before. The first step to accomplish this is, of course, to have a very strong and very tight drawing that is exactly like the prototype. Here you see me painting a second layer of light, a more strong light on the face of Venus. I go softly with thin lines. I really love using these Kolinsky brushes. They are amazing. They hold color a lot and very nice. I can paint on the tip of my brush in a way that is very satisfying and nice. After I've painted some of this second light on the face, you see me here blending it, doing a first blending to the first light. For this I'm mixing these two colors together and I'm painting in a very watery way, trying to blend these two together. You can see me moving back and forth, painting different areas without any seeming consistency. But painting is a very vivid process, a very alive process and I definitely try to keep this vividness when I'm painting. I'm not following any specific rules. Just try to see what the painting needs and move accordingly. I would advise you to not just follow my tutorials blindly, in a blind way. Just take the general rules, the general advices and tips that I give you and paint accordingly. Some people tell me that they can't follow the way I paint back and forth, like moving from one area to the other very quickly. I would advise them that they don't need to just follow my process in such a way. Just follow the rules about first light and second light and then feel free to paint as you like. Anyway, here you see me always moving between second and first light and blending and building the volumes on the face of Venus. I unfortunately do not have a video or a photograph of my palette, so I'll give you an oral description. I have a glass table and on top I have a glass and I mix my colors there, on glass. That gives me the opportunity to make small changes and mix small amounts of color and paint quickly with them. If I need to use a larger volume of color I mix these colors not on the glass but on, say, a drinking glass or a plate. But normally I am mixing my colors on a glass. So at this point you just see me blending the lights on Venus and without any specific order I just try to make it as close to my reference as possible. I am at a point where I am completely infatuated by Ektempera. It's amazing and at this point its power is somehow revealed to me. Painting in thin, tiny lines. This painting, this reproduction, say, of Venus, to me it looks really good and very convincing. I believe it's all about the medium, Ektempera, which is so silky and smooth and seducing. Of course I am in complete awe of Botticelli. I just can't believe that he painted such an amazing female face so many centuries ago. This was painted around 1445, 1445. And I am pretty sure my reproduction is just a shadow of the work of Botticelli. I haven't seen this Venus up close and alive. It's in the Uffizi Gallery in Italy. And I am sure up close I will be just amazed by his work. So I really admire and appreciate his work so many centuries ago. And I also try to learn and let Botticelli be my teacher for this painting. Here I light the eyes. I use a colder hue to paint the white part of the eyes. And I try to compare my original reference and see how strong the lights in the iris are. And paint these lights accordingly in my painting. After I paint and lit the eyes I do again some more correction, let's say, or touching. Final touching on the face before moving to painting the hair. The hair looked very intimidating and very difficult to paint. I was trying to imagine how Botticelli must have painted this hair. So after having painted the yellow-brownish base I will start by painting some shadows and some darker elements on the hair. I observe the painting of Botticelli as close as I can. And at the same time I try to forgive myself for not being a robot or as talented as he was. And try to learn to be more humble and accept that I'm just a student of his. Anyway, this is not an original work of art. It's a reproduction and it is made to teach me something. And to learn and then use what I've learned for my own original paintings. This is how we should consider these studies. As a way to learn something and to become better painters and artists. And I think this comes with being more humble and more accepting of ourselves as artists. I would like to thank again the people who support me financially on Patreon.com It's just unbelievable that people find this content helpful and they are willing to pay money for content that is free for everybody. And it's my pleasure to see your progress and to read comments from you saying how much these videos help you and how much you enjoy watching this content. So, it's really wonderful that people will pay for something that is free. This shows to me their trust. But what I do is of some value for everybody. So again, thank you my patrons and all of my subscribers. It's really nice and I will upload more content trying to help and give my tips as much as I can. So yeah, here you see me painting these shadow parts of the lights. This will help me set the shapes and the forms on the shadow of Venus. For doing these shadowy parts I've painted with a darker red with some yellow and just a little bit of black. And a little bit of ochre as well. And after this, you see me now painting with a more watery layer. A color that is very similar to the base. I just try to cover again the shadowy parts I painted before. And make a color that is very close to the base, liquid enough to let the shadows be visible. And this adds some richness and volume to the head. The more you work the hair before adding the lights of the hair, the better it's gonna be. The more rich and the more nice it's gonna look. Like in the face, the hair should give you a sense of completion also without having painted the lights. The same as the face. The face should give you a sense of completion also before adding the lights. Just by having painted the darker facial characteristics. So that's what I'm doing here. I'm trying to make the hair look complete also before adding the light. Here you see me painting the first light of the hair. I try to be guided by the painting of Botticelli. He teaches me how to paint the lights and what colors to use. So for this light I used yellow and white and a little bit of ochre. And I try to observe as much as possible how he has painted these beautiful, beautiful hairs and how I should paint these hairs myself. One line next to the other. Of course the brush here works miraculously. And the consistency of course of this color is very important. It should be strong enough to stay on top of my brownish base. I would love to see that you tried to paint this painting from Botticelli and that you made it to learn something. It would be wonderful to see your progress and your efforts. Please send me your photographs on my email account. It's linked down in the description of the video. When I'm painting this hair it's a very complex form. I try to not be in a hurry and try to take my time. I think this is the most challenging thing for me. When I'm painting something that is so beautiful I'm just in a hurry to finish it and to enjoy it finished. But I should be more patient and take more time when painting these forms. I should try to paint them more faithfully to the prototype. I was trying here to restrain myself from just painting quickly and finishing this hair. I could do better I guess. The other thing is that Botticelli worked this hair in a very free way himself. He used freely his brush strokes. This is something that it's almost impossible to really copy 100%. What I tried to do here instead was to be free myself and free a little bit my brush stroke. To be close to his forms of course and the way that Botticelli has lit the hair. But not to copy these hairs and these forms in a let's say blind way. I try to have more free brush strokes and see if I can achieve something that is close to the work of Botticelli. Just keep in mind and this is one of my advices to keep your pigment watery but strong enough to cover the base. And try to work as much on the tip of your brush as possible. One hair next to the other and I think you will be amazed. As you see I'm working here as free as I can on the tip of my brush. I'm so thankful for these Da Vinci brushes that I use, the Kolinsky brushes that I use. They are just unbelievable. And I'm almost done with this first light of the hair. I guess that this painting of Venus by Botticelli is an intimidating painting for many painters to reproduce. Maybe because she really is such a beautiful painting of Venus. Or maybe because it's such an iconic portrait that nobody thinks that there is some value to work from. I've seen many modern interpretations of this painting and they are really marvelous and interesting. Again this is one of the most famous paintings in all time. But I haven't seen many reproductions like this one trying to be close to Venus' original painting. So let's change this and let's do some of these reproductions. So now that I'm finished with this first light, you saw me briefly warming and blending this first light with the base before. With a more liquid and warm color. I painted this in some small areas, just where I felt that this needed to be blended. And here you see me painting some darker shadows and establishing these darker elements on the hair. Again I tried to have a free brush stroke, a quick but also contained brush stroke. And of course the guide for this is again Botticelli. I'm trying to observe and see how he must have painted these beautiful free lines. I can imagine the satisfaction that he must have felt when he painted such a beautiful, amazing portrait. It's interesting how the work of Botticelli fell into oblivion after he passed. He was forgotten as an artist until the 19th century, like so many other artists. But modernism rediscovered. El Greco was one of them. So this is almost done. Now I'm painting a second layer of light, highlighting these hairs. And I'm almost done. I do hope that you find this tutorial easy to follow and that it will inspire you to paint more complex portraits and learn something out of the process. Thank you so much for your kind comments and for taking time to comment. Again, feel free to subscribe. It's really wonderful for me to see the interest of the people for my work. And I will see you soon with another nice tutorial. Have a nice week. Bye.