Artists

62 Artists & IllustratorsMASTERCLASS(^5)Every area of the painting is brought into play asthe picture develops. Big slabs of impasto are leftto model the forms tonally without blending themtogether too much. Some modulations of tone willappear later but Van Gogh tends to let the tone of thecolour model the forms.(^6)Here I am using contours, as Van Gogh did, tomodel the form around the nose and cheek.This was a radical way of modelling form as it allowedthe colour to contrast by juxtaposition, as well asexpress the form. The coloured paint sits up withoutbeing too blended.(^7)All portraits need adjusting as you go along andhere I am using a bold line to re-draw the structureof the chin and mouth. Many of Van Gogh’s paintingsemploy a ‘last stage’ kind of drawing almost as a sheergraphic device for enhancing the structure of theimage. Again this was a radical departure from thetechniques of Impressionism, where line was absorbedinto the picture and disappeared as a graphic element.(^8)Despite the bravura of Van Gogh’s technique, hisportraits have a certain refi nement. He takes greatcare in getting the expression around the eyes. Here Iam using smaller hog hairs to create a subtle feel tothe eyes, though it is still an impasto technique.(^9)There is still time for more thick white paint to givea fi nal tonal bang to the picture. This nearly purewhite blob on the collar helps to connect with the whitetones in the face and unifi es the impasto surface. Afew more fi nishing touches, and the work is complete.VAN GOGH’SPALETTEVan Gogh used largehog hair brushes andno medium. His paletteincluded many of thenew 19th-centurycolours so favoured bythe Impressionists:Cobalt Blue,Ultramarine, PrussianBlue, Viridian Green,Chrome Yellow, LemonYellow, Vermilion andOchre. These are thecolours I have usedhere in the portrait ofmy son, applying thepaint generously anddirectly with mostlylarge hog hair fi lbertsand working at speed.5678960 Terence Clarke.indd 62 08/06/2016 14:45