Portrait session, using oil paints. I had a small canvas which I wanted to use. Kept the scale of the work down, which I liked. Some of our recent work has been so big as to be unmanageable. Quite pleased with the result, but I realised too late that the shoulders are at a smaller scale than the head. Need to stand and think more.
I can’t remember who this is, but I think she is a print artist. The photo came up in a search fit lino cut images and I liked it. She had flame red hair, which doesn’t show in monochrome. At least, not by any technique that I know of.
Another from the Atlas of Beauty. Different from previous as this is entirely drawn in black Bic biro. A very derided medium. It is superb for quick sketching. The drag on the paper feels perfect and you can build tones from pure black to the lightest grey. Downsides are that you quickly gets globs of ink on the ballpoint, which you must constantly wipe off on a tissue, and it fades. If left in the daylight it can fade almost to invisibility. But in a sketchbook it will outlast you…
Working on separate parts of faces. There is so much to each feature it beggars belief. This is an Iranian eye, allegedly.
Another portrait from the Atlas of Beauty. I’m finding them fairly addictive. This is fine line pen on a rough, coloured Indian Khadi paper. Highlights in chalk pencil. Low lights with a water pen fill of very ink wash. I find fabric very difficult to render.
Today’s sketch on the right, with last night’s on the left. I have been working over the latter. It is very hard to stop. This is the end of this sketch book. It has slightly rough, 50 year old water colour paper in it, which I didn’t like for drawing on at first, but it is lovely for this style of sketching. The fibre tipped fine liner pen starts to run dry after a bit, which actually improves the drawing. The next sketchbook had smooth paper in it, which I will probably now hate.
This is just a sketch of a photograph from a book called the Atlas of Beauty. Portraits of ordinary women from around the world. This was a beautiful, red haired Ukrainian woman who reminded me of a friend I haven’t seen for too many years.
We were attempting pastel portraits today. I used the vertical feathering technique I have tried on various other subjects, and it seemed to work quite well. Is my preferred pastel technique now.
A portrait session last week. Using poster paints, which are surprisingly good, and acrylics. I kept wondering why I kept getting an odd turquoise colour, however I tried to avoid it. Mark asked me “how do you get that turquoise? I can’t do it”. No one is ever satisfied.
I am planning to work on portraits more, a subject I am not good at. Starting with just some facial bits. These are from a stunning portrait of a young rabi by Isodor Kaufman.
JEGS ART 