Portrait commission, graphite.

'Ben', size A3, graphite. 

I have just finished this portrait commission - the first of several commissions on my list. I have a portrait workshop coming up on 22 - 26th July. Please email for info julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Portrait drawing and colour study, 'Christie, graphite pencil.

One of the most important parts of my painitng practice is the preparatory drawing stage. If I skip this  step and go straight to paint, I am always sorry. And in many instances I will put the painting on hold, and complete a drawing study before returning to the painting. 

Why would you bother?? Because 'drawing' is 'information gathering'. 'Drawing' is familiarising your eye with the subject, both in shapes and in tonal variations, and on a subconscious level it helps you make ALL the decisions that you will have to make during the painting stage - but minus the colour. The better your drawing, the better your painting will be. Bearing in mind the millions of decisions being taken while producing a painting or drawing, it is NOT quicker to sidestep the drawing stage. Instead, it is more painful, as all the decisions are being made at once. 

These photos show stages of my drawing of my son Christie. A very handsome fellow, I know! 

The drawing took many hours over several weeks. The fabric took the longest time! I drew using 2H, and F pencils, on A3 cartridge paper. The next stage is the colour study, and this is the BEST fun! 

The point of a colour study is just that - it's not a mimiature version of the final artwork. This little painting, around 6 inches x 3 inches, took about 45 minutes of blobby heaven, and is much more detrailed than need be. I showed it to Christie, who thought he looked like he'd been stung by lots of Bees. Well, perish that thought! This is straight to paint, no drawing, just mixing colour and setting it down, keeping planes clean, and separate from each other. 

With all that preparation I am sorry to say that I have started the final painting twice, which is one time too many!! I oredered linen, but it was thickly toothy and I didn't like it. I put down an under layer, which took about 3 hours, but decided to stop. It's so much better to listen to your own gut - and quicker to start again early in the proceedings, than torture yourself for days before conceding. 

Upcoming workshops- portrait drawing and painting 22 - 26 July

Oil painting 22 - 26 August

Life Drawing Friday evening 19 July

Life Drawing weekend - Fri 26 & Sat 27 July

For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Friday Night Life, BARA Belfast.

Students at work while Jeff poses

It's not every day that models come along in two's, but tha'ts exactly what happens with Jeff and Debbie! This lovely couple have been life modelling for ages, and are great to work with. Based in central Ireland, they travel all over the place to model for artist and students.

Lovely study by Sarah M

 They came to BARA for the first time in May, and we drew Jeff, and Debbie joined in with the class to do some drawing, for the first time ever! (She is second from the right in the top photo)

A selection of student's drawings 

Wonderful colourful chalk studies by CMW - these are always the envy of the studio!

 The second visit later in May was Debbie's turn to model, see some drawings above and below.

A snap of some of the class, with Debbie bottom left

 I'm delighted that they will be returning in July. If you are looking for a model (or two!) lifemodelsireland.blogspot.com

 they can be contacted via their blog

Friday 19th July 6 - 8pm, drawing Jeff.

Friday 26th July 6 - 8pm and Saturday 27th July 10 - 4pm Drawing Debbie.

For more info email julie@juliedougals.co.uk