Portrait WIP - Staged Approach Demonstration - Day 3

I thought it was about time that I shared with you the main source photograph for the current portrait project, so here it is. It's the label for the current EP of my pal, Jed Grimes. If you're interested you can find it on iTunes. Well worth a listen.

Jed Grimes - Album Cover

I further thought that you might like to see how I'm working. The next picture shows my trusty Open Box M with the linen mounted and the pigments mixed. My basic flesh colours are made with Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Yellow and Burnt Sienna with the usual Titanium White. Changes in mixtures might be altered with the addition of a blue, in this case Indanthrone Blue or some Yellow Ochre.

Easel Set Up for Portrait

Today the adjustments that I've made are small, some sifts in shadowing and slight alterations to the mouth. After that some work on the hair.

I've now reached a stage where I'm almost at an end but need to spend some time studying how the painting fails to meet my aspirations for it. I've already spotted one or two things that might create more of a likeness than I have at present, but I want to sleep on it for a while. So I'm going to call this finished but not complete.

Jed Grimes - Oil on stretched linen 12" x 12"

Portrait WIP - Staged Approach Demonstration

This week's project for me is another bash at portraiture. The subject is a life long friend of mine, Jed Grimes. Jed is a musician and artist with whom I share the odd day's painting as well as our regular social get togethers. I have a number of photographs of him as well as drawings that have been done in our art sessions. The picture I chose to base the portrait on is one that appears on the cover of his latest album, so if you're interested in the source material have a look at iTunes, type in Jed Grimes and look at Heart and Hand. You might take the opportunity to sample his music or even decide to purchase the EP. Well that's the advert, so on to the portrait.

The following pictures give an idea of the process I go through in making an oil portrait.

The first stage is to sketch an outline of the main elements. This was done in this case with Indanthrone Blue diluted with some odourless spirits. At this stage I'm not aiming for the accuracy that I would want in a drawing for watercolour, just a crude starting map.

Jed - Stage 1 the initial drawing.

Once the initial drawing is done I use a weak wash of burnt siena to begin placing some of the darker shapes and finding an outline.

Jed - Stage 2 placing the darks

Once this is done I begin assessing the accuracy of the elements. In this case I decided that the eyes were a little far apart and the chin a little long. A rub of the rag and an adjustment got the yes a little closer and a resolve to shorten the chin at the next stage was planned.

Jed - Stage 3 slight adjustment to eyes.

The next stage is where the first application of colours takes place. It is after this stage that the close study of progress is made with a view to deciding on the refinements that will be necessary as a move towards applying smaller more precise strokes in the next pass at the picture. This is a good stage to sleep on progress so far. With this one I've already spotted a number of things that will ned to be addressed when I get out the brushes in the morning.

Jed - Stage 4 first colour application

Portrait WIP - Day 2

Well here's today's progression of the Sargent portrait. After spending last night looking at the picture it became apparent that there were a number of flaws in the work up to that point. Things like the size and shape of the moustache, some of the colours and value relationships. Consequently I approached the day's work with a few concrete ideas in mind. They provided my starting point.

Once I'd addressed those issues I began to work on refining some of the brush work and took the decision to attempt to make quite a few soft edges in the relationships between the planes of the face and hope that I'd end up with a mixture of smooth and harder transitions. I realise that there is still work to be done, for example with the hair, and I think I need to live with it for a little longer before deciding on the finishing touches.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Carolus Durand (after Sargent) - Oil on stretched linen 12" x 12"

Portrait WIP

A few ideas came together this week. Prompted by the cold weather and an urge for some artistic stimulus I decided to pop up to Edinburgh to catch the annual exhibition of the Vaughan Bequest of Turner watercolours. It's always a pleasure to go to the National Gallery in Edinburgh, whilst not the largest gallery in the world it still contains some real gems. After visiting one of my favourites, the Edwin Church Niagara and an appreciative look at the Canova Three Graces it was off to see the Turners. This collection only appears during the month of January so you have to take the opportunity while it is there. Regular readers will know that I am a fan of Turner so viewing his wonderful subtle small pieces is a real joy. It's also wonderful to see his pictures of one of my favourite buildings, the beautiful Durham Cathedral.

Having satisfied the need to see the Turners and before heading to the Oxford Bar I had a quick walk upstairs to catch a few of the gems therein. One of the first things that strikes one on entering the upper gallery is the stunning portrait of Lady Agnew, a masterpiece from the brush of John Singer Sargent. A few minutes study of the magnificent brush strokes prompted me to think of a conversation I had with my friend Dan Corey last year. It was about a series of painting studies that he did, which were based on a number of Sargent's better known portraits. I remember making the bold suggestion that I might have a go at that myself some day. Consequently I left Edinburgh with a mission, have a go at a few portraits.

Well I got started today. I selected a 12" square stretched linen canvas and set up with a picture lifted from the Internet, copy of the Carolus Durand portrait by Sargent. The original is a half length portrait but I decided to limit my effort to a head shot.

This is my underpainting, where I've attempted to get the important shapes in place with a first shot at beginning to establish the colour and value relationships. As I've never made portraits in oils before, I'm finding this process quite daunting, even more so as my subject is so well known. I've used my usual medium, Galkyd and Gamsol to place this paint so it should be relatively dry tomorrow which should make it easy to work in the next layers of colour. We'll see.

As always any suggestions are welcome.

Carolus Durand (after Sargent) - WIP Oil on stretched linen 12" x 12"

My Charles Reid Experience

It would be rude to leave the topic of my week in Cornwall with Charles Reid without showing a little of the work that I produced during the week. I've selected three pieces that are representative of my work during the sessions.

The first piece is my working of the still life set up that Charles had used in his morning demonstration. I'm rather sorry that I didn't take development photographs as I went so that you could see the process that I followed. Apologies. Charles on his walks around the room commented that I didn't have the balance of soft and hard edges right in the flowers. He then took a page in my sketch book and demonstrated what he meant with a couple of flourishes of the brush. I should have asked him to sign it. He did a few of these personal little demonstrations during the week but he never makes a mark on anyone's painting.

Still Life Crantock - Watercolour on Not paper 16" x 12"

The next piece was done on the first day from one of the old photographs owned by the hotel and depicts one of the life boat crew. I have mixed feelings about this one. Drawing inadequacies and poor colour selection haven't given the best result here. It's a subject worth returning to.

Crantock Life Boat Crew - Watercolour on Not paper 16" x 12"

The last piece is an interesting one for me. Charles encourages people to paint along with him as he does his demonstrations although only a handful take on the challenge and I'd decided that sometime during the week I would have a go. The picture below was done in my sketch book as Charles produced his portrait of Perry. My own larger portrait that I did later in the day was not as successful as this one. Is there a message there somewhere?

Perry - Watercolour on Not paper 10" x 8"

As you can gather the week in Crantock has had a real impact on me and I now have for myself a number of challenges to improve my watercolour technique. Not least is the enormous challenge of getting the consistency of my paint mix right time after time. You'll be able to follow my progress in that over the next few weeks as I try to depict my surroundings in Maine over the next fortnight. That is if the fog clears over Heathrow and I make my flight to Boston. You receive this early posting as a result of flight delays at Newcastle Airport.

Charles Reid Day 2

The weather intervened today. The light drizzle made us abandon plans to visit a local National Trust property. The prospect of spending a whole day working wet in wet didn’t seem the best way to advance our technique.

So two ‘models’ were drafted in for a morning’s demonstration of portrait painting. The models were in fact non painting partners of course members. The Reid style of portraiture is immediately recognisable and his portraits never fail to inspire people.

David - Drawing

Charles begins his portraits with a faint outline that represents the general shape of the head but makes no attempt at an accurate outline. He then, by a series of dots begins to map the main features, starting with elements like the eye socket or nose. Each mark he makes relates to a previous mark and as the marks increase the number of points for cross-reference grows.

Once he has sufficient points of reference he begins drawing and as he draws one feature he finds another closely related feature to move on to, for example the nose bridge to the eye corner. His pencil strokes go Press, Lift, Stop. This emphasises the relationship between the two related points as well as leaving lines that are not too heavy.

The important thing about his approach is that he builds the portrait from the INSIDE not as many do and create an outline that is subsequently filled in.

David - Photograph

Once it is time to paint Charles explains the colour mixes that he uses. His basics are Cadmium Red Light and then either Cadmium Yellow Light or as is the case today, Raw Sienna. He also uses Cerulean Blue to tone down the mixture and create shadow areas. Other than that he makes occasional use of other blues, a touch of Alizarin and Raw Umber.

David - First strokes

Before paint gets on to paper he advises squinting to determine the highlighted areas. Those familiar with his work will know that highlights are often created by leaving white paper, one of the distinctive characteristics of his practice.

He then emphasises the brush strokes. The advice is PLACE PAINT, DRAG to create shape and then SOFTEN to mix the appearance of edges.

David - Development

David - Watercolour by Charles Reid

After the first demonstration our second 'volunteer' arrived.

Perry - Photograph

Perry - Drawing

Perry - First strokes

Repeat - OOPS

Charles' Palette - Note mix on right

Perry - Development

Perry - Watercolour by Charles Reid

Evening sees the dreaded Critique Session where all the work of the day is reviewed by Charles. Here he emphasises teaching points as each student is asked to review their work. The problem we’re left with is translating those tips into our practice.

The April Challenge

The latest in the monthly series of paintings that I do with my friend Peter Ward. (www.watercolourfanatic.blogspot.com)

Peter has been making pictures of native americans for some time and this is the one that he chose for our latest joint effort.

This was the photograph that Peter sent at the start of the month, a dramatic image with strong contrast and a strong set of features.

Just for a bit of fun I had a bash at doing a finger painting on the iPad before getting out the paints.
Ostaho Indian - iPad painting

I then set about rendering the image with watercolour. I was keen to try and get close to the value range of the original photograph but had some difficulty in getting sufficient depth in the darks without building up that with overlaying washes. This tends to degrade the painting as the paint loses brilliance. All in all an object lesson in paint application. More pigment required in the first pass.

Another interesting exercise.
Ostaho Indian - Watercolour on Not paper 12" x 9"

Charles Reid Workshop - Day 1

We gathered on Sunday evening at Urchfont Manor for the start of our week being tutored by Charles Reid. A course like this takes some organising and the plans had been put in place two years previously. Jane Duke, an artist based in York had set up the event and bookings opened in August 2008, so those of us who managed to gain a place had a long wait till the event itself. Much credit must be given to Jane for her excellent administration and the way she facilitated proceedings. It's worth visiting her site at http://www.janeduke.com/ as she runs workshops of her own.

Urchfont Manor

Excitement was the order of the day as we assembled on Monday morning for the first session of the workshop. The day was to be devoted to making portraits from the live model.

The routine for workshop days would consist of Charles producing a picture whilst outlining for us the stages in his process and the reasons for doing things in the way that he did. Throughout the week the pattern would be similar, mornings taken up by Charles' demonstrations and exposition then the rest of the day we students would tackle the day's asssignment whilst Charles circulated giving us individual guidance as we worked. The whole organisation maximised the teaching time in class and individual time. It is a tribute to Charles and his wife Judy for the smooth way that these events run.

Charles and model Graham Barclay in position

The demonstration began with an explanation by Charles as to the way he goes about his preparatory drawing, emphasising the relationships between various elements of the face and the posture, then the contour drawing method constantly relating shapes in and out of the silhouette.

Graham - Charles Reid, preparatory drawing

The next stage was to establish the important areas in the centre of the face placing darks and ensuring that the places where light and shadow meet are well represented.

Graham - Charles Reid, first stage of paint application

The next stage was developing the middle tones across the face.

Graham - Charles Reid, second stage of paint application

The last stage was the final development of the other features and the odd tweaks that pull the image together.

Graham Barclay - Charles Reid

Questioning during the painting prompted an extra demonstration on the rendering of eyes, the details of which will be familiar to readers of Charles' many books but nevertheless a treat to watch the flow of his paint and the impact of his final rendition. The first morning had been a first rate session and it left us all enthused for our own model sessions after a decent lunch.


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