Painting a Colourful Portrait in oils 3

Today was my third portrait sitting with Judy. Prior to it I had spent a lot of time painting her costume as well as considering what to do with the background.

As can be seen if you compare this with my previous blog, I have begun to paint her headdress and necklace in much greater detail. Each particular section (e.g. orange) I painted in a slightly darker tone . With a fine sable, I then outlined the rows of beads . Then it was time to apply a mid tone , before flicking in little pinpoints of light.  My original dark tone acts as the shadow area between the beads. All that remains, when this is dry, is to  indicate individual shadows on the beads. The triangular metal piece on her head dress (which indicates she is a married woman) still requires some light, shade and reflection to be added. The white strings are simply blocked in at the moment and also need a bit more definition and shadow.

A close up detail of her necklace illustrating the technique described above.

I have also been working on other areas of the costume, and blocking in the large patterns. It is indeed time consuming but there is no way it can be rushed. With her cloak, I am beginning to suggest the folds and creases. These will have to be completed before I superimpose patterns of little black dots.

I have also added at this stage a very colourful bangle and belt.

During our sitting today, I focused on her face, looking at the cool bluish reflection on the left, trying to correct the modelling in her neck, chin and around her mouth. The hair had to be adjusted also.

The background I have also started. Initially, I thought of a bold bright colour like pale blue. But i have now decided to apply gold instead, with all its connotations. The photograph, however,  does not convey the richness of it.

This is how the portrait now looks at the end of the third sitting.

Keep watching my blog to see how the painting develops and how it looks when completed.

Suffolk Art Society Exhibition

An exhibition of work by the Suffolk Art Society is now taking place at the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Lavenham.

It is a popular venue in an elegant setting. There are oils, acrylics, pastels, watercolours, pencil, and pen/ink  drawings covering a wide diversity of subject matter from popular local scenes to animals, figure studies, still life and portrait.

I am showing three paintings, all acrylics.

The first was done purely for fun, a far cry from the normal rigours of portrait painting. In the recent scorching summer heat I set up my easel in the garden and attacked the canvas with abandon. I used palette knife , glitter glue, acrylic inks, gold and silver paint as well as the usual pigments and mediums. I intentionally heightened the colour to express the warmth of the day. It was not a photographic representation of the scene before me, but rather my emotional response to it

Summer Garden

My second painting is of an old hulk I discovered whilst teaching a painting holiday in Kirkcudbright earlier this year. Marvellous textures of wood and rusting metal. Most of the painting was done thickly with a palette knife and the fine detail added in the form of glazes or fluid pigment.

Old Hulk

My third painting is of “Venetian Rooftops”. I loved the interlocking patterns and richness of colour of this scene.

The Exhibition in Lavenham runs until the 20th July. The Society’s next exhibition is in Holy Trinity Church , Long Melford from 1st-17th August.

For further details of the Suffolk Art Society and its members visit www.suffolkartsociety.co.uk

Painting a Colourful Portrait in Oils – 1

On occasions you meet someone you  just love to paint. This happened on Monday when I met Judy, a beautiful young woman from Kenya. She arrived for the portrait session  dressed, very simply,  in blouse and jeans. She  tentatively suggested, however, that I might be interested in seeing her in her traditional costume which she had also brought. I readily agreed.

When she reappeared, my immediate reaction was “Wow!” Such fantastic colours, patterns and shapes. A million miles from the  jumpers, cardigans or business suits I am normally requested to paint. No contest.

This first sitting lasted two hours. It is a large canvas measuring 30″ x 40 ” and is in oils.

I did not do any preliminary drawing, but went straight in with the brush and paint diluted with turps. Initially, I was planning how much of the figure to include and having done so , concentrating on positioning it on the canvas. It was then down to getting the scale of the head in the correct relationship to the rest of the body and checking the position of the hands. When I was relatively happy with that I focused on the head , and established the various proportions. My normal guidelines, however, were rapidly abandoned as was my usual palette. No more yellow ochres and cadmium reds, but wonderful mixtures of burnt umber, raw sienna, ultramarine, viridian green, purple and orange.

At the end of the two hours, the painting was as above. I was happy with my morning’s work. The composition had been established and the likeness was beginning to appear.

Since then, I have been working on the costume, blocking in the large patterns and vibrant colours. At this stage it is still fairly crude. There are such wonderful textures of material and beadwork , I really must do them justice.

Over the next few days, I shall continue to work on the costume. My next “live” sitting is on Monday when I will focus on painting head and hands. At the moment, we have four sittings planned, but it may take more. I shall chart the progress of the painting over the next few weeks.

Watercolour portraits

To attempt portraits in watercolour is not for the faint hearted! Watercolour is a notoriously difficult medium to work in, and is, in comparison to other media, fairly unforgiving. Whatever technique one is using, whether it be wet into wet or a more considered approach, careful planning is required if your painting is to be a success.

The above sketch was done in about one hour using a wet into wet technique. No preliminary drawing was done. Although initially it looked chaotic to the group I was demonstrating to, I was, even at the earliest stage, planning and allowing for my highlights to be preserved. If things go wrong there is still the possibility of lifting out with a sponge or tissue.

The same approach was used in this sketch. Having established the position of the features I started to build up the depth of tone. At various points I dried the painting and went in with a dry brush technique, as in the eyes.

The above was a preliminary sketch I did for a more finished portrait. Again this was completed in less than an hour.

“Mary.”     A portrait in watercolours.

This more finished portrait took considerably longer, requiring as it did layer upon layer of transparent glazes to achieve the detail I wanted.

I find watercolour the most amazing medium and one which offers a luminosity and delicacy unrivalled by others.

In a later blog I will demonstrate a watercolour portrait from start to finish and will describe the materials, techniques and colour mixes I use.

John Glover’s Open Studio

For the last three weekends, my studio has been open to the public as part of Suffolk Open Studios. It was a busy but fascinating time.

I had lots of visitors, from friends to students, to others who had either seen my work in the preview exhibition at Blackthorpe Barn or spotted my work in the brochure.

It is an ideal opportunity for people to see the “artist in action” and to have a chat about art, materials, and techniques.

Apart from showing “work in progress”, I like to mount an exhibition of a variety of work. This  I feel is much more interesting for any visitor.

As can be seen from the photographs, my main interest lies in portraits, figurative painting and landscapes. For these, I work in all manner of mediums, from oils to acrylics, gouache, watercolour, pencil , charcoal and pastel.

The comments and discussions ranged far and wide from specific paintings to general chat about materials, techniques, and the classes I run.

From the artist’s point of view the feedback is invaluable and it is always fascinating to see which particular paintings prove to be the most popular.

But the “holiday” is over and it is time to get back to the solitary business of being a working artist!

Sketching in gouache

Gouache is a marvellous medium for doing quick sketches. I often use it when working on portrait commissions and wish to present a series of ideas . In a previous blog, I showed a portrait of Tony Langford, Managing Director of John Smedley Ltd. (2003-9)

This was only arrived at after various other alternatives had been considered.

Whilst it was great fun to paint , this was not really a portrait suitable for the Company Boardroom.

Tony is also a passionate sailor, so I was taken on board his motor launch and given a trip along the Orwell. Fortunately, it was a calm day as I am no seafarer! This voyage resulted in the following sketch.

One of the previous Chairmen, however, also had a nautical theme as background, so this alternative was rejected.

Finally, we decided on a Cambridge setting as Tony grew up there,went to University there and now lives there. Hence the idea of having his old College, Clare, as the backdrop. A couple of alternatives were considered.

Also

This second version was chosen as the design for the finished portrait. Whilst indicating the Cambridge connection  the pose was also intentionally relaxed and casual. As such it was a good foil to previous portraits now hanging in the John Smedley Boardroom.

The finished portrait .

“Tony Langford, Chairman, John Smedley Ltd. ( 2003-9)

oils  38″x 30″

The advantages of gouache as a sketching medium.

It is water based and dries instantly but remains soluble if you wish to work back into it. You can paint with a thick impasto or using a wash technique. It is opaque so you can paint light over dark . As such it is a very forgiving medium. It is much underrated and is well worth experimenting with if you’ve never tried it before.

Clare Art Club

Last weekend, I took part in an exhibition of work by members of Clare Art Club. It is always a most enjoyable event. The atmosphere is warm, friendly and unpretentious and members all “muck in” to get the show on the road. There is a lot of laughter and joking despite the serious  business of getting the exhibition together- erecting screens, juggling and moving paintings , sorting out craft work. After a couple of hours, however, it is time to retire to the Bell Hotel next door for a meal and liquid refreshments!

There was a huge diversity of work on show from traditional Suffolk scenes to foreign landscapes, figurative paintings,  portraits both human and animal,  to bold bright abstracts, jewellery and craftwork. Something for everybody to enjoy as they wandered round the exhibition or sat sipping tea and eating cake.

The following are some of the Club members and their paintings.

Sue Eaton

Jan Couling

Kevin Franks

I had two paintings on show in the exhibition, both oils.

“Tina”    (40″x30″)

“Granny McLeod”   (20″x16″)

Clare Art Club is around 23 years old and was formed by its President Irene Corless. It has 99 members. As well as having two exhibitions a year, in the Town Hall at Clare in Suffolk,  the Club meets at the Bell Hotel for “demonstrations” on the 4th Tuesday of each month.  Anyone interested in joining should contact Jan Couling the Membership Secretary.

A traditional method of painting a portrait 4

The portrait is nearly complete. I have continued building up detail through a series of glazes alternating with more solid pigment.

I pay close attention to  blending, whilst at the same time increasing the depth of shadows and picking out the highlights in the flesh. With a hogs hair brush I try to capture the flow of the hair before finally using a sable rigger to add the wispy bits.  This technique is particularly useful where the hair goes into the background. This way, the contour is softened.

A few minor adjustments to the face, a bit more detail to the blouse, and the portrait will be finished.

A traditional method of painting a portrait

In this blog, I will demonstrate a much  more traditional method of creating a portrait. In my previous one, it was the “alla prima” method. i.e. painting direct and tackling both tone and colour at the same time. Here the idea is to focus on the drawing and tone, before considering the use of colour.

To speed the process up, I will use acrylics as an underpainting and will be working on board primed with acrylic gesso.

I use titanium white, raw umber, viridian green and Paynes grey. The aim is to produce an almost ghostly image, with the depth of tone lighter than in the finished work. If I make it too dark I will be unable to apply my coloured glazes successfully.

The image shown is after about an hour’s work. I am getting the tilt of the head, the basic proportions and have begun to establish the features. Because acrylics dry so rapidly, it is easy to obliterate mistakes and move things around.

A bold approach to portrait painting in oils 1

On occasions, it is exhilarating to try a different technique from normal and to move out of one’s comfort zone. In this portrait, I will be demonstrating a much more spontaneous approach to my usual carefully considered one.

Such a process gets the adrenalin flowing and can even be scary, particularly if one is demonstrating in front of an audience. Will it work? Will I be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat? Could it be my Waterloo?

I begin with my canvas stained with a pale wash of Viridian Green. As I wish to work quickly, my colours are already pre-mixed on the palette. With a large brush and lots of turpentine, I indicate the basic shape of the head and  the position of the features. But I am aware that most of this will change as the painting proceeds.

I now make liberal use of the palette knife and large hog’s hair brushes to lay on slabs of colour. I go straight way for the mid tones, allowing the cool underpainting to show through in places. It appears to be chaotic, but is it? After about 25 minutes of hectic activity, the painting looks like this.

When it was shown to the sitter, his look of horror said it all! “What a horrible daub! Does this man really know what he is doing?”

Watch my subsequent blogs to see how the painting developed!

FIVE TOP TIPS
Try something different, a new approach.

Don’t panic if it seems to be going wrong.

Expect the unexpected .

Take advantage of those happy accidents.

Most of all, enjoy.

Got to part 2