PORTRAIT EXERCISES
B
eing able to draw provides
the confidence and perception
to create a convincing
representation of a subject. The skill
creeps up on you through practise
and ingrains as a habit making the
act so much more instinctive.
The other skill you acquire is
simply the patience to look at
something. You break it down,
conceptualise it, and put it back
together in some kind of creative
form; you might even leave bits out
or reinvent the thing all together.
It becomes tricky when balancing
the need to master the drawing
mechanics with the instinctive,
creative urge to simply expressive
yourself. In painting – and especially
portraiture – the outline you use to
guide your path can become the
shackles that restrict the free
movement of your arm and your
imagination. You could try portraiture
without an initial drawing and see
what happens. The painting will look
liberated, but the likeness may suffer.
Having gone through the
apprenticeship of life drawing classes
and picked up traditional drawing
methods, I have found the trick is to
forget everything. If you’re a beginner
there are plenty of tutorials you can
follow in books, magazines, online
or through workshops. These mayincludeusinga gridtobreakdown
thedrawingintosmallerchunksor
startingwiththestandardegg
shapeandaddingplentyof
constructionlines.
They’reallvalidmethods,I have
justfoundanyelongatedtimespent
ontheinitialdrawingofa portraitkills
thesparkofpassionandinstilsa
senseofpreciousnessabouttheline
work.Thiscaneasilystiflethose
expressive,confidentbrushstrokes
thatcreatesa senseofownership
overyourpaintings.Startingwith
anaccuratedrawingis sucha staple
approach to portraiture that no one
questions it.
Personally, I’ve found coming to
an image cold and expecting to nail
a likeness early on, before essentially
colouring it in, is asking a lot. I favour
a basic start with the refinements
building up and crystalising at the
end. This is akin to sculpting a face
and knocking it into shape over time.
Any initial drawing is used to establish
the main shapes that details can be
dropped in later on.
I begin portraits with a ‘robot’
shape. These simple lines create the
foundations of the portrait which,
over the course of the painting, are
explored. Consideration is given to
unique qualities of individuals faces- whether they have long or oval
faces, big or small ears – but left out
are excessive descriptions of wrinkles
or eye lashes, for example. It’s also
easier drawing straight lines, whether
short or long, than accurately
portraying a circle.
This declutters your mind,
preventing you from focusing on
refined edges and encouraging you
instead to simply travel from A to B
while locating a shape. The lack of
refinement starts the process and
circular shapes can be added once
the main structures are in. The
contrast then between angular and
circularlinesandshapes are far more
interestingtoo.EXERCISE 1
AIM
Forthisexercise,I’llshow you how to
createanddevelopthe basic structure
ofa portraitina three-quarter view.
Youhavenothingto lose at the start
ofa paintingbutaslogic sets in you
canlosesomeofthat creativity.
Theaimhereis totry holding on to
thatcreativityaslong as you can, so
theartworkreflectsyou rather than
the image you’re trying to replicate.MATERIALS
I painted this portrait of Ricky with
acrylics, which does allow for quick
over-painting when I make mistakes
but not much time to blend, due to
their relatively rapid drying times.
I used the following colours from
the Amsterdam Standard Acrylics
range: Titanium White, Azo Yellow
Medium, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna,
Pyrrole Red, Primary Magenta,
Greenish Yellow, Phthalo Green,
Cobalt Blue, Primary Cyan, Prussian
Blue, Ultramarine Violet and
Permanent Blue Violet.
I painted on a 76x61cm canvas
with larger Daler-Rowney System 3
flat brushes, sizes 1”, 1.5” and 2”.WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
This exercise will teach you to apply
whichever drawing technique you
choose with a sense of urgency.
By creating micro deadlines and
varying the pressure in your arm
when sketching, it will help you to
avoid tired or monotone line work.
By loading generous quantities of
paint on your brush, you will also learn
to avoid overworking and instead
create blocky strokes that will
eventually connect together to
create a fullpainting.Varying the pressure
when sketching helps
avoid tired line work
Original photo
Artists & Illustrators 49