How Can I Paint the Mona Lisa in an Hour?
The painting the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is the most famous portrait in the world and one of the reasons might be the subtle and hard to define shadows around the face called sfumato. Sfumato is one of the painting modes of Renaissance art and is difficult to do. I decided to have a go at painting the Mona Lisa and post it on Youtube as speed art. But here are the common pitfalls of painting a face with a subtle expression. Tips on Painting the Portrait of the Mona Lisa See my 2 Youtube clips on painting the Mona Lisa. The first glaze (above) was completed in around twenty-five minutes. Once the first glaze was touch-dry, I began on the 2nd glaze (below) which took a further half-an-hour. The second process enabled me to elaborate on shadows and refine shading. Both processes have been speeded up, so that viewing time has been compacted to a few minutes. The most common problems with painting a portrait with delicate detail such as the Mona Lisa are the followi...