Artists

58 Artists & IllustratorsThe nose is the feature that causes most stress in myportrait drawing classes. It’s diffi cult to know what toselect to explain this central feature, when there areno lines around it, and no clear transitions of colour.My method in painting the nose is the same one I employwhen painting anything; I half-close my eyes and seek thedarks and lights and where they meet one another. Seeingin this blurry way allows you to eliminate the tones that areless signifi cant and fi nd those that give the nose its shape.In describing fi rst the shadow where the socket of theeye meets the bridge of the nose, and then the shadowattached to the underside of the nose, you go a long way toexplaining its form. What happens in between the top andbase of the nose is less signifi cant.There are other things to note when observing the nosefrom different angles that help to create its form, such asthe size of the spherical end of the nose. It often has morevolume than we think. The light will hit the surface of thesphere and when you fi nd that light, you give it volume.Seeing the size of the fl esh of the nostrils in relation to say,the iris, helps to make them big enough. Warming up thecolour of the fl esh here is a good way of setting the nostrilsapart from the rest of the face.As always, I recommend building up the nose as part ofthe face, allowing it to gradually emerge from thesurrounding skin tones.http://www.ainedivinepaintings.co.uk``````HOW TO PAINT...THE NOSE FRONT VIEW1Here I’ve made a mix of Sap Green and Cadmium Redand found a consistency of paint to water that allows meto make a clear shape in a few moves. I’m gradually fi ndingmy way, setting the scene for the nose to emerge. The paintgathers to indicate the line of the jaw.2The ‘C’-shaped shadow shows where the nostril meetsthe cheek, on the left. I added Ultramarine Blue to theCadmium Red and Sap Green to make this darker colour.3Here I’ve re-painted the shape of the shadow cast bythe nose onto the face, and the same shadow colourcontinues to the jaw. Allow the painting to expand andcontract as you work; these expanding shadows draw youaway from the action and give a bit of breathing space.4Now that I’ve placed the shadow side of the noseclearly, I can begin to more fi rmly establish the philtrum(the central dip between the nose and mouth) and thetones on the right hand side, including a light skin colour(Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red) in the eye socket andskin over the top lip. I continue to use the 3/4′′ fl at brush forall these moves, and the corner of the brush to make thesmaller shapes.5Here I injected some Ultramarine Blue to the dark sideof the nose and Ultramarine Blue/Van Dyke Brown mixfor the dark nostril cavities. The shape of these darks canhelp you make sense of all the under layers, and turn it intoa nose. Applying Cadmium Orange balances the blue.``````FRONT VIEW6In this fi nal stage, I’ve run some Sap Green over theshadow on the left of the nose, and added more VanDyke Brown to clarify the dark in the eyebrows. Somepatches of colour are adjusted as I observe, so part of theorange shadow under the eyebrow on the right is softenedto undulate over the bridge of the nose.The shadow that outlines the fl esh of the nostril on theright has a crisp edge, while the other side of this shadowfades gradually across the face. An indication of red lipcolour and red under the left eyebrow take our attention upand down the area of the nose.13524657 Aine Divine.indd 58 08/06/2016 12:24