Learn to Paint Portraits Quickly E-Book

Hazel Soan

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 59

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan delivers a concise and approachable guide to portrait painting, with simple exercises and step-by-step demonstrations. Whether you are using watercolour, oils or acrylic, Learn to Paint Portraits Quickly explains the key elements of catching a likeness in portrait painting in a mixture of mediums. The book is filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step exercises that can be digested in a short period of time, and written in an accessible way for all artists to learn about portraiture. The key elements of portraiture covered in this concise book include: - Finding the likeness - Creating form – the light and shade - The facial features - Painting the hair - Skin tone and colouring - The body, clothing and backgroundIllustrated with Hazel's magnificent, colourful paintings, and with practical advice and demonstrations throughout, this book is the perfect tool to help beginners master portrait painting – quickly.

Leseprobe

Valerie Singleton OBEWatercolour (99 x 76cm/39 x 30in)

Tashy Watercolour (56 x 45.5cm/22 x 18in)

Contents

CHAPTER 1Finding the Likeness

CHAPTER 2Creating Form – The Light and Shade

CHAPTER 3The Facial Features

CHAPTER 4Painting the Hair

CHAPTER 5Skin Tone and Colouring

CHAPTER 6The Body, Clothing and Background

Lukus Karslake Watercolour (51 x 40.5cm/20 x 16in)

Introduction

Portrait painting is in every painter’s genes! The joy of painting an individual is a thrilling challenge, made even more meaningful by the added joy of the sitter. Achieving a likeness, however, can be a daunting prospect, and fear holds many people back from even attempting a portrait. The emphasis throughout this book is on how to paint the face, and the aim is to demystify the process, dispel fear, and enable you to engage with confidence in this special and worthwhile pursuit.

Due to my own painting preferences, oils and watercolour dominate as the main materials illustrated, but the instruction applies to all painting media. Whether you want to paint family, friends or strangers, the pages ahead are packed with the information you need to get going, focusing on the vital issues in a deliberately succinct format to equip you to start painting without delay – you could be painting your first portrait in less than an hour!

Your first portraits may well be family members. My three sisters, pictured here, have been obliging and forgiving models throughout my life!

Chapter 1

Finding the Likeness

What is portrait painting?

The intention of a portrait is to represent a specific individual. It can be painted from any angle, with or without background and can be considered ‘finished’ whenever the artist or sitter chooses. It is enough if it reminds the viewer of the sitter in some way and, even if at the time of painting little likeness seems achieved, you will almost always find in retrospect that something in the portrait represents the sitter by default.

Abeba Misgan Yismaw Oil over acrylic stain on paper (40.5 x 51cm/16 x 20in) In portraiture, where likeness is the main aim, the finish of the painting is not so important. In this example, there is likeness already represented in the under-painting before the tones and colours become more nuanced in the finished version (below).

Catching likeness

Each face is individual, but what makes it unique? After all, eyes, noses, mouths and chins are in the same relative positions on all faces. The shape of the features certainly counts, but the key is in the spacing, the position of each feature relative to another. To represent a particular likeness requires close observation but there are general rules of proportion to offer a template. Once you grasp that likeness lies in the relationships between the facial features, then ‘catching a likeness’ becomes less daunting.

This set of ‘Warhol’-style portraits clearly demonstrates that it is not the facial features that determine likeness but the spatial relationships between them.

Making the sitter comfortable

An enjoyable portrait stems from a relaxed relationship between artist and sitter. Most people are grateful, and even flattered, to think you want to paint them, but will want to know how long it will take and whether they can move or talk. Positioning and detailing the facial features takes less time if the face is completely still, but after the features are in place more latitude is available – painting the forehead or hair, for example, does not require the mouth to be still. Since a portrait can be made in minutes, hours or days, seek the sitter’s time preference before you start. In general, the first sitting should not exceed 45 minutes, and 30 minutes may seem long enough to the sitter thereafter. You can ‘read’ in the face when a break is needed, and offering this before being asked pays dividends.

Mark the locations of the chair, feet and elbows with strips of masking tape, on the surfaces where they rest, to help direct the sitter back into the same position after a break.

If you paint the eyes of the sitter looking directly at you, the eyes will ‘follow you around the room’.

Tara Oil on canvas (60 x 45cm/24 x 18in) Tara’s gaze was directed straight at me while I painted, so the gaze in the portrait looks straight ahead, and thus follows the viewer from whatever angle the portrait is viewed.

AndyWatercolour on paper (30.5 x 33cm/12 x 13in) The oval shape of the head is more obvious in profile.

The Dancer With the head dipped the curvature around the face is more visible.

The shape of the head

The head is roughly oval or egg-shaped, balanced on the pillar of the neck. The face is more or less symmetrical either side, but not flat – the features wrap around the curvature of the head on both lateral and longitudinal axes. The brow and nose protrude, protecting the eyes and airways.

The brow and nose protrude but they may still fall within the general egg-shaped oval of the head, which is supported by the pillar of the neck.

Facial template

Start the portrait by blocking in the overall shape and proportion of the head on the paper or canvas support. Since correction is inevitable in portraiture, charcoal is an ideal drawing medium under oils or acrylics as it can easily be erased. For watercolour I suggest a soft 2B pencil and a putty rubber so that any erasure will not harm the surface of the paper. Draw using straight lines at first, these provide strength, while curved lines offer fluidity.

Roughly mark the top and sides of the face within the overall shape. Draw a line down the middle as your axis of symmetry. The face can then be divided roughly into three sections: the top third of the head extends from the top of the forehead to the top of the eyebrow; the middle third extends from the top of the eyebrow to the base of the nose (the ears span the middle third); the lowest third extends from the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin.

Do not get caught up in detail until you have grasped the basic proportion, or you will struggle to achieve likeness later on.

Sketching the head To block in the proportion, use straight lines to mark the top, bottom and sides of the head, note any tilt, then cut across the key angles that shape the cheeks and chin to define the shape more closely.

The centre axis is indicated, the angle of the hairline found, and the face divided into thirds to help position the facial features.

Adding the features

Once you are relatively happy with the overall proportion, begin adding the features. Start with the eyes as this will provide an anchor. Compare their width with the distance between them, and to the sides of the face. Use the width of the eye – probably the most useful measurement in portrait painting – to then find the length of the nose, from bridge to base, and mark in the nostrils and the curve of the tip.