SELF PORTRAIT PROJECT – WORKING FROM HOME DURING THE LOCKDOWN

A new thread while I am working in confined space in my house.  As a follow up to the portrait class I did two weeks ago, I am having a look at the human head and closely studying the shape of the skull and how the features become part of that.

As I cannot go out to sketch people due the coronavirus restrictions,  I practice by pausing the tv when I see a head that interests me, and doing a flash sketch of it.  Practice, practice until it becomes second nature, then I might be able to start creating something.

I welcome the change in routine, it is making me think about what I do in a fresh way and prioritise the threads of teaching, horse drawing, design and experimental art practice differently.

1.4.20  I have made some charcoal drawings of myself and started to translate the tones and planes of my face into paint.  It is quite a challenge to see my face, or anything, in that way, especially when colour is the medium.   But practice is the key.  Also I am making “plane” drawings to help me be clear when I am painting.  But it usually needs a couple of days.

4.4.20

Got stuck while working from a photo, did the tried and tested grid close focus colour matching approach but alas, it did not work, though I did learn something as ever from the frustrating tussle (below left).

Next day looked again at my mentor, Ray Smith, and mixed up four tonal/flesh colours and had another go on different image.  Realised that attempting to capture the elusive flesh colours is impossible (for me at this stage anyway), and in fact as humans our focus on the face is so powerful that it will interpret the features with only a small hint.  Start in this way and build up the colours in relation to each other, going warm or cool or both, however you wish.

9.4.20

Come to a bit of a halt with the momentum of this.  But re discovered this portrait painter from almost 4 years ago, understand it better now

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/25/clara-drummond-kirsty-buchanan-bp-portrait-award-muse

Starting on closer pencil drawings to try and get a likeness.  Here is what I have so far.  *hard work* and not like me.

Here (below) are four paint sketches done May-June 2020 before I temporarily stopped studio work for digital stuff.