with each successive thumbnail
containing more information.
Below it is a larger drawing in which
I was able to place all the figures, still
with a minimum of detail. This took
me about an hour to make. I have not
put in any facial features or details of
clothing, but I did shade in the darker
areas in the landscape and the
shadow between the central seated
figure’s legs. It was only after I had
made this drawing that I realised that
I had got the proportions of the width
and height wrong. The painting is
slightly wider than it is tall, whereas
I had drawn it taller than it is wide.
When a work is as close to square as
this one is, it is easy to make this
mistake. In spite of this, I had learnt
how the figures all relate to one
another through making this drawing.
I made this oil sketch on a
29x30cm MDF board, which I had
prepared with several coats of gesso.
If you want to make your own version,
you can use a gesso board or
prepared paper or a small canvas.
Use something that is not precious
as these quick sketches are to be
made with as little anxiety and
pressure as possible.
I first mixed up a variety of colours
that I could see occurring in several
places in the composition: a blue, a
dark green, a red and a yellow ochre.
The size of my board was much
smaller than the original painting.
Small is good here because it is
important to work fast and remember
that you are not making an exact
imitation.
You are, however, noticing and
expressing real relationships that you
see in the original. It is important not
to trace when making these sketches.
Tracing has its place, but it removes
the necessity to try things out and
make discoveries as you go along,
and nearly always produces rather
dull results. Put simply, if you trace
you will learn less and make a less
interesting painting.1
Here I used a thin neutral greyish
paint. It was from a tube of
Neutral Tint, which is a useful colour
as it does not affect the colour of
what goes on top too much. I made
marks which I knew were provisional
and that in all cases I would be
prepared to change if it became
necessary. Letting go of expectingmarks to be correct straightaway
matters, as how you feel will show
itself in the brushstrokes.2
I painted the blue sky and used
this same blue in other places
where there is blue in the original, still
making loose, rough marks and not
worrying about detail. I put in the
warm yellowish-brown foreground.3
I painted areas where there is
red clothing and made a curved
shape for the naked man next to the
two standing women. I made curved
marks in the neutral grey for the sides
of heads and bodies.The making of oil sketches
is best done in the atmosphere
of genuine enquiry
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