Portrait Drawing, graphite pencil

I have just finishsed work on the preparatory drawing for a portrait commission.

I don't always do such a finished 'rough' - it often depends who the client is, how well they know my work, and what their requirements are. I do enjoy this stage - it's a great way to get to know the pattern of the faces and sort out balance of tones etc, in order to create a good portrait (as opposed to a copy of a photograph, which is an entirely different thing altogether).

Finished rough with client-led alterations

Also, in this instance, the photographic reference was from a couple of years ago (as provided by the client) and this means the little girl's face has changed shape as she has grown. So it is necessary to use more recent photographs as further poeints of reference to ensure the portrait is a satisfactory mix of truth as it was when the photo was taken, combined with the truth of how the child is seen now. 

I like to start with the eyes, choosing one eye to be dominant over the other.

Once most of the first face was blocked in I moved to the second face. Children's faces are difficult as they are so much smoother with more subtle variations in tone across the flesh. 

At this stage, above, I showed the drawing to the client, as a sneek preview to ensure things were looking familiar to him. He was delighted and asked only that I take some of the fulness away from the jaw on the child - you will notice this if you look at the final drawing at the top of this page. I also softened the tones a lot on bothe faces and finished the background loosely. 

The size is 32cm x 35 cm. I will show you the colour version when it is done. 

Now I'm off to the post office to send the original for approval - fingers crossed! 

Next up: Two day landscape water colour workshop 

In November - Portrait Drawing workshop and Oils weekend. For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk 

The Big Draw - 

As part of the Big Draw 2015, I am holding a Children's Drawing session at The Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices in Belfast's Titanic Quarter on Saturday 30th October. The event is free. For bookings and info  Catherine.mccooey@titanic-foundation.org or call 028 9073 0490. 

More information here

                   http://visit-belfast.com/whats-on/event/the-big-titanic-draw

Heaven is a place in Holywood..

.well, it was until I bought all the gourds in town, and now Heaven is in my house!

On display at the shop... I want them all!

Although I am not overly attracted to Orange things, in autumn it's an eye-catcher that can't be ignored - jolly, warm and hopeful, with the colour of fire. I love autumn, it's abundance of colour-contrasts, berries and seeds, a last gift before nature takes a rest. 

colour contrasts: orange leaves,  blue sky

As well as the leaves slowly changing colour, gourds begin to appear in the shops in the run up to Hallowe'en. With their twists, stripes and warts, they are like nature's joke - they aren't edible, purely for decorative entertainment.  

Abundance of warty temptations.. Be careful to check for mould as you want them to last as long as possible. 

They make the most brilliant subject for drawing and painting, and aren't offended if you add extra bumps and lumps. 

Safely at home 

Colour pencil drawing in my Moleskine Sketchbook

Warts and all

Drawing these is all about surface pattern. Great fun. 

Upcoming workshops in Oils, Water colour, portrait drawing and Colour Pencil. For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Back to the Airing Cupboard, Oil on board

It is a good idea for artists to meet other artists from time to time, to appreciate each others work and talk about our different approaches. Artists spend a lot of time working alone, so this sharing of experiences ignites new and varied enthusiasm and stops us going... nutty. It's always interesting to see how other people work - from the state of their studio space, to the music they lisen to, the lighting they prefer, their favourite brushes and of course the process they use to create their paintings. 

From time to time I visit my friend the artist Ian McAllister. His paintings are beautifully crafted, delicious mysteries. I took along a painting-to-be, of some little pumpkins that I'd arranged in my airing-cupboard-of-controlled-lighting, which I'd drawn and transferred in line to an art board. 

Ian's 'Dark Start' on the left and my 'Pale-but-interesting' on the right..

It's wonderful to see the very beginnings of another artist's process. As you can see from the two 'beginnings' above, we took the opposite aproach. Ian starts in fuzzy darkness (left), working with a really long brush and adding lights to the dense background. I (right), with my water colour and drawing history, am champion for wanting to preserve my drawing, lest I fall off the edge of the world or something..  So, lets mix it up, we thought... and slathered darks dollops of thinned down paint all over my drawing... 

Big broad strokes, but the comfort-blanket of drawing is still visible. 

Above - we managed a good bit of darker tones on top of the 'slather' until the surface was too sticky to take any more, and I took my painting home to see how I'd get on.. 

Dried, lighter

The image above shows how it dried - the tones had sunk in much more than I expected. The idea was for me to try building up colour using glazes. 

Glazing

I made lots of mistakes. Grr.. I did many layers, which at first were streaky and transparent and unsatisfying. I  did LOTS of layers, in colour, then wiped over it with black to keep it soft and fuzzy. This was verging on the traumatic at times, but I soldiered on...

The set-up 

My goal was to get real depth into the warm orange colours on the pumpkin, and eventually the richness I was after began to emerge, with the colours making the objects look solid yet velevety. Then I had a little accident.. 

Oops...

Yes, I'd not lowered the top block of the easel to secure the board, which was thin and lightweight. So, JUST when I was happy with a days work, and moments before I had to go out to a meeting, the board tipped over and landed in my palette. The dollops were impressive! 

Clipped on! 

Of course, I wiped it off, along with the areas around the dollops which were still wet, and laughed at myself... I worked a while more on the painting, but evenually was fed up looking at it so I ceased. I learnt a great deal from this little painting - some of what To Do and lots of what Not To Do. When I put it away, I really didn't like it, but now, some months later, I dont mind it so much and appreciate having taken the time to struggle with it. Often, what we learn is invisible, but we use it in the next painting and the one after that and the one after that..

Portrait drawing and painting in oil (work in progress)

A note from my drawing board, to your Inner Voice (you know the one, that keeps saying you can’t do, it blah blah…)

Did you know that artists are Human too? It appears that many students think that artists are some sort of Other Species who get things right first time, all the time. Well, if only that were the case, perhaps artists would be less frustrated.. 

Even when we have been using a particular process for a long time, we can still make mistakes. But this isn't a bad thing necessarily. It just means we have to work out a solution and try again. 

Recently I began working on a portrait - it was to be in Oils, but I always start with a drawing.

Drawing study, pencil 

After working on it for a few days,  I transferred it onto canvas to do an oil painting of it. This is a relatively simple procedure which I have done MANY times, which involves tracing over my original drawing, providing a rough line drawing on the canvas as a guide to paint from. But this time.. Well, what a palaver.

Firstly, I couldn’t believe how PALE the pencil was as it went onto canvas - I could hardly see it at all. So I tried again, using a much softer pencil, with little or no improvement. After almost an HOUR I realised that I’m not supposed to use pencil at all, but paint… What was I THINKING??! So I started again, again. And it was a gloopy, lumpy MESS. This is the point that many folks just give up. But giving up isn't part of the painting process, so I wiped the canvas and traced it yet again. Still gloopy, but slightly less so than previously. Here it is...

Gloopy mess - if you can't see much, rest assured, I couldn't either... 

It didn’t look inviting as a surface to paint on, I can assure you. But I painted on it nonetheless. it's up to me to make it work. 

slowly working on top of the underlayer

Inching along

The colour isn't great in these photos, but it gives you an idea. 

This is where it is so far, with another layer to go on everywhere. 

Why am I telling you this?

So that you understand that even when you’ve been doing this for a long time, there are always times which hurt more than others. And the only thing to do is carry on, anyway.

There are a few more hours left to go in this painting, I just wanted to share the process. 

Upcoming workshop: portrait workshop, children's classes, Location Drawing and four day drawing and oils workshop with PJ Lynch. For info please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

The Mark of Summer..! (student work)

It's been lovely getting back into teaching after a break away. This week its been busy in the studio, with a couple of childrens classes as well as my Thursday bunch. One of the adult students, Mark,  decided to try his hand at the grissaile method of painting, which is a black and white underpainting in oils, followed by the colour layers on top.

Day 1, the grissaile underpainting, completed

The first stage after setting up the objects, was a tonal drawing, which was then transferred onto the canvas board. Mark spent the rest of the day carefully using the black and white to turn form on the apples, with the gray scale beside him to remind him... 

Day 2, colour layering over the dry grissaile

One week later, the underlayer was dry, and he put the colour on top. It is hard to feel the benefit of the underpainting when laying down strong colour (ie the reds), but he soldiered on - blind faith goes a long way. And to quote Mark himself, 'sure, what could possibly go wrong..?' 

End of day 2 - first colour layer completed. 

The underpainting really came into its own on the chopping-board - Mark painted over the chopping-board with a thin (fairly transparent) layer of yellow ochre, and same on the shadows of the apples. The whole thing was unified, with very little work. Win win! A great exercise, very well executed. (Though maybe one more layer will be needed to finish it off. But I won't tell Mark yet...)

Up-coming courses - landscape in water colour, portrait drawing and four day oils workshop with PJ Lynch. Enail julie@juliedouglas.co.uk for info 

Earning my wings at The Angel Academy of Art, Florence.

I'm just back from a wonderful workshop with the Maestro, Michael John Angel, in Florence. I have learnt so much, and it is an experience I will never forget.

Thirty-one students gathered from all parts of the globe (Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Pakistan, England, Holland, Russia, Ireland, Brazil, Spain) to learn to paint using the "Grisaille underpainting and glazed overpainting method", by copying from a master painting by either Bouguereau or Leighton.

On the left, the art shop, and straight ahead
 in the sunlight, a peep of The Duomo...

Not sweeties, but yummy pigments

I chose a portrait by Bouguereau, because I was interested in studying skin tones and form modeling of the face. The course was a technical one, designed to teach us a system of working, to show the steps involved to create a long lasting painting.  There are many ways to work in Oils, but it is vital not to mix the systems.

"Grisaille" is a classical method, which means painting in grays, using the 9 value gray scale to firstly block in the subject, then establish a 'map' for the overall form and eventually more carefully render an accurate, subtle form painting. Once the grisaille is complete, the colour is laid on top. It sounds so simple when written down..

Mr Angel is an amazing teacher. He is incredibly generous with his knowledge, approachable, open and keen to assist everyone, no matter what their level of experience. And, thank goodness, patient too. During the two weeks he gave us a succession of lectures and demonstrations, with follow-up emails, directly relating to our task, as well as giving us a broader context to the work.

The Maestro, M John Angel, giving the first demonstration

After getting our drawings onto canvas, it was great to have a demonstration, showing us to be general, not specific. To quote, Maestro said "don't expect a result straight away. Relax and don't mind it being roughly painted!"

Of course, it is vital that the grisaille underpainting is, eventually, as good as you can possibly make it. This is where mistakes should be ironed out and adjustments made, so as to form a solid foundation for the colour. So there was no pressure to rush, only an expectation of commitment and 'slowly slowly wins the race". So, with that encouragement, I took a deep breath and started the scary process of whitening up my drawing... She didn't look too well to begin with, poor thing, but once started, there's nothing for it but to carry on!

Day 2                

Day 3

Above - the left image shows a close up of the slather-system I adopted after three days in an attempt to beat the Oils into submission. I had been a little timid, and still getting used to using the Calcium Carbonate in with my white paint, and if you look closely at the image, you will see little white lumps. This is the calcium, not blended forcefully enough. 

end of day 4. Still on the rough side

 I was discovering that the oils like to darken as they dry overnight, so the serene, pale girl you said goodnight to as you left the studio, greets you the next morning with a 5 o'clock shadow - oh, pu-lease!! This 'game' lasted several days, with Herself always having the last laugh.  The image above is the end of day four. This was harder than it looked. 

If you look closely, you might detect a few mosquito bites on my neck. This was to be a recurring theme of the trip... 

End of day 5

By the end of day 5, a lot of work had gone into blending and modeling, and the mouth was moved a few times too. By now, some of my companions were starting to apply colour. But I was determined not to rush. The photo is a bit fuzzy because the camera got a bit sweaty..! It was 38 degrees outside, and 37 degrees in the studio.

I was so lucky to be working next to Fiona Merlin from Australia. She was the sweetest person in the world and answered my (silly) questions kindly and helped settle my butterfly tummy. Fiona was a teacher, and we shared some great conversations about learning and art and Everything. She's a great painter and a great painting buddy. 

Fiona and I working (I'm the one with the white antannae...) 

End of day 6, and the final pass before colour

I was much happier with the face by the end of the sixth day. By now I was the only one not working in colour. But it was better to make the corrections at this stage rather than in colour.. I appreciated that I could have spent a few days more moving things around, but decided to get on to colour. 

Back of canvas neatly pinned

Above - a break in the proceedings for a demonstration by M John Angel on stretching canvas. Such is his gentle nature that all aspects of techniques were explained thoroughly, and logically, demistifying all processes as if veils were being lifted from our eyes. Lovely. 

I was a little apprehansive about colour until I actually put some on, then, ah... delicious relief. We do, after all, live in a world of colour. I felt at home. and I remembered, I love colour! 

end day 7

As you can see, I continued working slowly-slowly but hadn't fully appreciated how much the gray underpainting still wanted to override the subsequent layers. The battle was still on. Oh no. 

I didn't realise it until the end of the day, but day 8 was to be my final day in the studio. 

End day 8

I was really enjoying the venture into colour. The grisaille system is not like any painting I have ever done, and it is interesting manipulating the layers, to see how much underpainting can be used, and how I might do the underpainting differently next time. What is very clear is how the paint performs, and how an understanding of mediums is essential for any degree of success. As you can see, the face is still blotchy, and the gray underpainting is dominating. Grrrr!!! There are so many good lessons to be learnt from this. 

Unfortunately, my whole trip was punctuated (!) by regular visits from mosquitoes. Now, I didn't scratch EVER, and I hardly complained, but they kept on coming. It started with one big one, then a scattering of smaller ones, then a total free-for-all. By day 8 I had 80 bites, mostly on my legs. One of the tutors at the academy, Martinho Correia, stopped in his tracks in the corridor one day and asked me loudly, 'are you IRISH? Gee, I could tell - the mosquitoes LOVE the Irish".  Nice. 

So, on the doctor's insistance, I got an early flight home, two days earlier than I intended, to give myself a chance to recover. I've had a few days now of extremely strong antibiotics and I'm lapping up the cooler air. I was so sorry not to be able to say goodbye to my studio companions - that was the worst bit.  I had a wonderful experience, met great people - WONDERFUL people, and I'd do it all again tomorrow, even with the mosquitoes. 

I have spent more time on the painting since my return. I have done some hair (which is a little big at the moment!), and a beginning of glazing on the fabric, and more layers on the face. I have another day, or two, or three still to go. 

Not quite finished yet...

I'd like to thank Maestro M John Angel for his kindness and his friendship. I highly recommend his courses to everyone who has a desire to improve. He is holding a two week workshop in Liverpool in August 2015,  see

http://www.angel-studios.co.uk

and I'm delighted to say that he will be coming to Belfast in 2016 to deliver a workshop here too.  

For information on this or all my courses, please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

notes from the airing cupboard.. Oranges in oils

So, I mentioned that I moved my workspace up to my small spare bedroom, and felt the benefit of being away from the general living space of the rest of the house. After the first painting, of an orange, which I'd set up in  shadow box, on top of a chair on top of a table, I decided it would be useful to have some shelves, to vary the height of my subjects. And then I remembered that the other wall is a set of cupboards, with lots of shelves! Da-naaa!!

So I turned my easel and lamp around, moved a few towels, placed the shadow box on the right shelf and set up the next arrangement. Oranges in the airing cupboard. Perfect...

Fruit in the airing cupboard..

One of the important factors in using the shadow box is the ability to control lighting, or to prevent more light than you want, on the subject. I lined the edges of the cupboard with black fabric, and used the cupboard door to block external light. Yes - a lot of time is spent preparing and setting up. This is so important. Composing, arranging and lighting your subject  is the making of the picture. It has to look delicious, or there's no point in painting it. So all this faffing about isn't a waste of time, it's the creative part. 

One lamp on the subject, another on the canvas. 

I did my preparatory drawing in my sketch book - I love this stage. This is a step which so many students leave out. Why? Drawing is information gathering - we draw information from the subject, to gain understanding of spacial and tonal relationships and to get the balance right. 

Something magic that happens when we draw before painting. Familiarity with the subject, an intimate getting-to-know it better. Then, at paint stage, we've already observed it, we kind of FEEL it, and the NEW decisions we are making are about colour - we still have to make the spacial and tonal decisions too, but we're half way there with those by then..

Underpainting, over a burnt sienna base colour

I painted the white canvas with a layer of burnt sienna, as a good base to paint on.

I propped my drawing up as additional refrence material next to my easel. Sometimes looking at the drawing helps, even though the fruit is still right there!

With this painting, I was trying out glazing techniques, and trying to be a bit looser. The canvas was one that I'd already opened, from my pre-Milliken Brothers days, and it was horribly rough and textured, which at least helped to restrict any over-tight tendancies. Sometimes though, it can feel like we're battling with the materials, which is not a good thing. I stuck with this painting till I couldn't stand the rough canvas any more, and moved on to the next one (making sure it was a nice fine linen).

For me, painting really is about the doing of it, rather than the completing of it. The hope is always that the next one will be better, and the next and the next...

Up and coming workshops: Oils weekend, Belfast. For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk