How to Paint a Matryoshka Doll Face

But all artists need guidance. Occasionally the leading portrait artist explains the intricacies of painting on a convex wood surface.

This master artist also demonstrates how to mix tempera paints with water because painting wood with water-based paints requires special consistency.

Photo: Brushes of different sizes for painting Nesting dolls

How to paint the matryoshka doll face

When painting nesting dolls, we encounter the distortion of proportions due to the doll's convex surface.

We use a small mirror to achieve perfect symmetry and natural, feminine features when painting the nesting doll.  

There are several stages in painting a matryoshka's face: 

• First, we smoothen the wooden surface of the matryoshka doll with thin and soft sandpaper. The area where matryoshka face will be painted must be perfectly smooth.

• We then apply a light primer made from water and PVA glue (Elmer's glue). 

• At the next stage, we draw the face with an HB pencil. We use this pencil to mark the doll's face and other small details. 

• After drawing, we check the doll's reflection in the convex mirror. Using a convex mirror, we can notice minor flaws and asymmetries unnoticeable to the average eye when looked at directly. 

• We mix tempera paints with water in the right proportions. The master portrait painter inspects our brushes and the tempera paint mixture.

• We use natural zero size brushes. Using such brush size is slow and difficult. However, this is the only way to achieve the natural and sophisticated features of the matryoshka face.
  
  

How long does it take to create a matryoshka face?

Even when creating a standard five-piece set, the long and detailed process takes one to two days. But painting large nesting doll sets (30 piece matryoshka dolls) takes a minimum of four days.

How does a fabulous Matryoshka face appear?

The inspiration behind our Firebird nesting doll's face is the image of a cute little girl from Russian folk tales.

Our Blonde beauty with blue eyes attracts attention with a naïve expression of her eyes, a good-natured smile, and a healthy, childish complexion.

A pale pink blush helps to make the cheeks look natural.

Photo: An exclusive Matryoshka doll face

Our main catalog of nesting doll faces includes ten sketches divided into two groups: classic and exclusive.

We paint the classic matryoshka sketches on the main series of our Firebirdworkshop matryoshka catalog. 

The exclusive faces are drawn and painted once; sometimes, several copies are made. They are exclusive because there are no similar dolls to such masterpieces. They're drawn and painted by our finest portrait painters.

Sometimes the exclusive matryoshka dolls portraying a girl in Russian folk dresses and similar outfits are sold as part of private orders or our limited edition collection. 

However, when drawing and painting on a blank doll, we take into account our customers' ideas. If necessary, the portrait master reproduces the matryoshka's face from the customer's photo. After all, Rome was not built in a day.

Creating an exclusive nesting doll takes three times as much as creating an ordinary one.

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