How to Paint Angel Faces

Angels have been painted, sculpted and drawn by artists throughout history. Visual representations of angels appeal to people for many different reasons, ranging from religious beliefs to a simple comfort in the thought of angels. Painting an angel, whether for a class project, your own personal enjoyment or a professional commission, lets you express your own vision of what these heavenly beings look like. Your angel painting can be as simple or complex as you like, but take special care when painting the angel's face, as this will surely be a focal point of your painting.

Use the pencil to sketch out an outline of your angel on the canvas. Start by drawing the angel's head, and scale the rest of its body to match the head. Add in the angel's facial features with the pencil.

Pour the colors of paint you plan to use onto your painter’s palette. Choose the colors you want to use on each section of the angel's face. Use a peach color as the base color for the angel’s face. Use a small amount of paint to cover the entire inner part of the face you sketched. With a small amount of black paint on the brush, add the nose to the middle of the face by painting a small letter "J." Starting at the top of the “J,” draw a mirror-imaged “J” to complete the nose.

Wash your brushes before you begin adding other details to the face. Dry the brushes and inspect them for any remaining paint. Use a paper towel to help with the drying process.

Paint in almond-shaped eyes. You may want to use black paint for the outline of the eyes and the eyelashes. Decide on an eye color and paint small circles inside the almond eyes to give the angel its eyeballs. Use a thin brush dipped in black paint to add eyelashes to the eyes. Decide on a color for the eyebrows (usually the hair and eyebrows are the same color,) and paint them in above the eyes. You can make the eyebrows as thin or as thick as you like. Use an arch shape when painting the eyebrows on, thinning out the brows as you get to the outside corners of the eyes.

Use the tip of the brush to create the outline of the angel’s mouth. Use a subtle color for the outline so that it will not clash with the paint color you choose for the inner portion of the lips. You may want to use an off-red or pinkish color for the lips.

Choose a color for the hair. Angels are often depicted with curly blond or light brown hair. You can go with this traditional look or give your angel a different hair style and color, if you prefer.

Paint the ears, using the same or similar color as you used for the angel's face. Paint them as symmetrically as possible and place them evenly on either side of the angel's head.

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