THE SURROUND BEHIND REAL OIL PAINTINGS
THE EXACT MIXES BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT ISN'T SKIN
Not color theory. Not a chart. These are the real mixes for the walls, the air, the ground, the cloth and the garments in the same six portraits - the surround that decides whether your flesh reads right. Follow them at your easel.
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Instant PDF download
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See the finished painting
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Get the exact mixes I used to paint it
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Mix them yourself at your easel
THIS IS NOT COLOR THEORY
It is the palette behind real, finished paintings, opened up a second time. For every portrait I show you the exact tube mixes for the walls, the ground, the cloth and the garments, where each one sits, and the measured relationship that makes the picture hold together. The part most painters guess at, laid out so you can use it tonight.
WHAT IS INSIDE
- THE SAME 6 FINISHED OIL PAINTINGS - opened up a second time, now for everything except the skin: the walls, the air, the ground, the cloth and the garments.
- 9 TO 12 SURROUND RECIPES PER PAINTING - the actual mixes, each one sampled at full resolution from the exact spot in the painting where it sits.
- THE VALUE MAP AND A RELATIVITY NOTE FOR EVERY PLATE - the measured gap that makes the face come forward, in numbers rather than opinions.
- THE SAME TEN TUBES AS VOLUME ONE - stone, sky, earth, gilt, teal, terracotta, leather, denim and a true neutral grey all come out of them. Nothing new to buy.
- THREE PAGES PER PAINTING: THE MAP, THE RECIPES, THE PROOF - where each color was read, how to mix it, and the close-up of it doing its work.
THE MAP - WHERE EACH COLOR WAS READ
THE RECIPES - HOW TO MIX EACH ONE
THE PROOF - THE PAINTING AND ITS VALUE MAP
WHO IS IT FOR
For the painter whose flesh tones are finally right, and whose picture still looks wrong. If the face looks pasted on, if it floats no matter how carefully you mixed it, the problem is almost never the skin. It is what you put behind it.
WHY TRUST IT
I am Uri Shavit, a classically trained oil painter. For over twenty years I have taught color - to a YouTube community of more than 134,000 painters and in my own studio. Every color in this book is a literal pixel, sampled at full resolution from a real, finished painting. Nothing here was invented for a book.
A skin tone is only ever right in relation to what surrounds it.
QUESTIONS
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DO I NEED VOLUME ONE?
No. This book stands on its own. But the two are built as a pair, sampled from the same six paintings - the skin from one, the surround from the other.
WILL IT ACTUALLY HELP MY PORTRAITS?
If your faces look pasted on or float off the canvas, yes. The surround is almost always the cause - painted too light, too colorful, or too close in value to the skin. Every recipe here is a proven mix from a finished painting, with the measured value gap that makes it work.
ARE THE MIXES REALLY FROM YOUR PAINTINGS?
Yes. Every color is sampled straight from the finished painting shown on the plate - the same mix, on the same spot. This is the palette behind the work, not generic theory.
WHAT PAINTS DO I NEED?
The same ten tubes as Volume One (Michael Harding and Winsor & Newton, Series 1), or any comparable oils. Nothing new to buy. Match the color, not the label.
WHAT FORMAT IS IT?
A downloadable PDF, designed for a computer or iPad screen, not a phone. Instant download after purchase.
DOES IT CONTAIN NUDITY?
Two of the six plates are classical figure studies.
CAN I PRINT IT OR SHARE IT?
Print it for your own studio use. It is a personal-use license, so please do not redistribute or resell.