http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistApril 2021 33
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values. Think of the difference between
Manet and Morisot’s palettes.
- The colours. Are they vibrant and
chromatic, or soft and harmonious? - Your own painting style. Is it sharp
and edged, well refined, or softer and
more impressionistic?
All these elements will help clarify
a mood in the painting, which in turn
helps the expression, adding to the
emotions we believe the sitter is feeling
or conveying.
Expression
Having worked out the mood of the
painting with the big shapes, let us
move onto the small and subtle shapes,
zooming specifically into the portrait,
into the eyes, the nose, and mouth, to
determine the expression.
When starting a portrait, I think the
shape and structure of the nose is your
one fixed point. Of course, a nose can
be very characterful, but it is also static
and therefore such a good anchor to a
portrait likeness. When we move to the
eyes, or more specifically the eyebrows
and the mouth, there are so many
variables, which really help us give an
expression to the portrait. The simple
large shapes and the five essential
darks lock into the likeness. But the
expression of the sitter is a much more
nuanced and subtle art.
t Portrait of a
woman
83 5in (20 3 12½cm
In this portrait I think
there is a gentle mood.
This might be because
it was the only one for
which I had a little more
time and so moved
beyond a block-in. I
could be a little more
nuanced with the
modelling and move
into the highlights of the
eyes and the modelling
of the lipsp Portrait of a male
103 6in (25.5 3 15cm).
Despite the fact there is no information in
the eyes, there is still a sense of strength and
directness
u Raised
eyebrows
103 6in (25.5 3 15cm).
The eyebrows here are
raised, which gives a
slightly anxious and
alert look*The artistic movement
that we refer to as
Expressionism is the
use of free energetic
paint application with
a less than naturalistic
use of colour – think
of Van Gogh, Munch,
Schiele and Kokoschka.
However, as a movement
it is pushing expression,
where expression is
beyond naturalism, using
emotions to express
oneself with paint.