54 artistFebruary 2021
the history of painting, and I would say
the dark value patterns of hair are really
helpful for shaping a head. In my portrait
of Jordan (right), her hair is dyed white
so I didn’t have a strong dark value to
frame her head. Instead I emphasised the
light to increase the warm colours in her
portrait. I also added a blue outline to her
profile as I felt it would help the modern
look of the hair.
Painting hair can often be a challenge,
but the most important aspect is that you
don’t consider it as hair. Think of the way
the light falls, analyse the transition of
edges along the light and look at it as a
mass in relation to the background and
flesh tone. I think the hair can have a lot
of character, but its character is not in the
individual strands but in the large mass
as a whole as it sits on the skull. Like
every element in the painting set up, the
hair can be used to help better describe
the sitter and give character and variety
to the brushwork and painting.
ANN’S TOP TIPS
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT WHEN
PAINTING HAIR
l Characterisation. When setting up the
pose with your model think about how the
hair can help you with the portrait, and help
enhance or explain the sitter or the mood of
the painting.
l The large shape. Think of the overall shape
of the hair – not the shape of the individual
hairs but the hair mass; the overall shape of
the hair as it sits on the skull and moves over
the shoulders. There is proportion, rhythm
and gesture in the hair as much as with any
shape in the figure. The hair helps explain the
form that it is sitting on. So before we think
of how to paint the detail of the hair we must
first think of the shape of the head. The hair
as it sits on the head explains the shape of
the skull.
l If the sitter has long hair, think of the way
it falls over their shoulders. I think it works
to put the hair over the shoulder in the light
side to frame the portrait and behind the
shoulder on the dark side to see the shape of
the neck. But this is not a rule, just a guideline
as sometimes the exact opposite looks better.
l The values: the lights and darks. The value
patterns on the hair also help describe the
form and turn the planes of the head.
l The edges and transitions. Think of
the edges; are they soft or hard, clear or
melted? I think this really helps describe the
fact that you are painting hair. The shapes
and shadow patterns are a given but the
softness and clarity in the hair is the most
telling. However, don’t soften the hair byjust blurring the edges, don’t be tempted to
soften the transitions. It is better to paint the
transitions – by this we mean that you look
for the small shifts in value and colour. With
every brushstroke, load up the brush again
with a fresh amount of paint. The colour steps
can look muddy if you don’t work with a clean
brushstroke each time.
l Colour and temperature. You do not need to
paint the exact hair colour, or the local colour,
ie the strand of hair. The value and colour of the
hair is only seen in relation to where it sits on
the head. Is it in the light source or in the dark?
Is it clearly defined by a varying background or
flesh tone, or does it melt into the same value
pattern?
l Hairstyles. I think it is really fun when theJatinder, pastel on Strathmore paper,
183 12in (45.5 3 30.5cm).
I left the hair loose and sketchy and
borrowed the colours in the bandana to
help me find more colours in the portraitmodel has done something with their hair
such as tied it in plaits or piled it on top of
their head. It can really add character to the
portrait. Even a fun bandana can help – see
Jatinder (left).
l As you would with fabric, try to find as
many geometric angles as possible as it gives
more stability to the structure.
l Hogarth spoke about the line of beauty,
which is a gentle S curve. Look for this shape
along the hair line and in the rhythms of the
hair.
l The hairline seems softer by the forehead
and lower cheek, but as it hits the cheekbone
(zygomatic arch) it appears harder. Look for
this change in edge.
l Along the hair line by the forehead there
often appears to be a greyer or cooler tone as
we transition from the light of the forehead
to the depth of dark of the hairline.
l Rembrandt often drew accents of the hair
with the back of the brush. Use paint to apply
shapes and values, but remember the process
of painting is not just in the application but
also in the manipulation of paint.
l The highlights. As with the highlight on
the tip of the nose and on the forehead, the
highlight on the top of the head is higher in
value than the highlights down the side of
the hair as it is both closer to the light source
and on an upper-facing plane.TAPORTRAITS
u Jordan, oil on linen on board, 11 3 9in
(28 3 23cm)