IN DEPTH
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I painted the green areas of the
mountainous landscape behind
the figures and the foliage of the trees
on the right. I also put in the green
of the clothing of the seated man
behind the bowl of fruit.5
I carried on painting the figures
and the landscape but soon
decided to stop. This was before
the sketch looked finished.
I could have carried on, refining
the details and the colours, but I felt
that something important to me had
become clear, so I stopped. I did not
want to forget or lose the evidence
of what that was.I knew that if I carried on, I would
change the sketch to the point that
this lesson would be lost.
The thing that this sketch had
taught me was revealed to me in the
standing women on the right-hand
side. I had rendered the stance of the
woman in a blue dress quite clearly in
spite of putting in almost no detail.
I felt that I had made it believable
that she is looking in a particular
direction, i.e. at the central seated
man who has his legs parted. I had
also made it believable that she is
balancing a pot on her head with
some difficulty and that her dress is
therefore slipping off her shoulder.LEARNING LESSONS
These achievements may not be what
you are looking for. Your sketch may
show more of the jewel-like colouring,
for example. When you feel that you
have achieved something that
interests you, whatever it is, stop and
move on to making another sketch.
By stopping work when the oil sketch
contains proof of a lesson learnt, we
can look back to it and be reminded
of that lesson. It can be tempting to
keep on going, trying to make the oil
sketch “better”, but this means that
any evidence of significant progress
gets buried and forgotten about. The
making of quick oil sketches is best
done in the atmosphere of genuine
enquiry, rather than a desire to make
saleable work.
When you make a quick oil sketch,
do not be disappointed if you see a
difference between your sketch and
the original painting. In fact, it is that
very difference that will teach you
what you need to do next. I could see
that I needed to work on my use of
colour after my first sketch from Titian
and Bellini’s painting. I also saw that
I wanted to get better at making my
painted marks look confidently
placed. However, I was pleased to
have discovered that catching the
likeness of a stance is something that
interests me and that I can achieve it.
This is an edited extract from Sara Lee’s
new book, Painting and Reinterpreting
the Masters, published by Crowood
Press. http://www.saraleeroberts.co.uk5
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