46 artistMay 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.ukOILS
P
ortrait painting in oil has always
fascinated me. As a teenager
I wanted to paint movie stars
and musicians and during my
university years I started to explore
slightly more expressive painting of
family members and friends. During
this time, inspired by the American
photorealist movement of the 1970s,
I started to explore the techniques
of painting hyperrealistic portraits,
adapting them for my own style of
working. What attracted me to this style
wasn’t just the ultra-realistic results
of the paintings but the natural, banal
subject matter. I wanted to capture
people in a way that was true to life and
natural, one that the audience would
relate to on a more direct and human
level. Real, natural expressions
When setting out to do a hyperrealistic
oil portrait I take many photos. This is
because I’m not happy with 95 per cent
of the photos I take, but it also gives me
an idea of the facial structure and colour
tones of the face. I usually have an idea
of a theme I want to create, such as an
everyday mundane task, and will take
photos of that or even a background/
setting in which I want the subject to be
placed. My portraits aren’t traditional
in the sense of expressing the subject’s
character, I want to paint a great amount
of visual information. When selecting an
image I look for a good facial structure,
lighting and imperfections of the face.
The reason for this is that I can then
exaggerate certain features to direct
the visual hyperrealist sensation on the
canvas. This doesn’t mean exaggerating
to the point of making your subject look
old or over-wrinkly, but to be aware
of skin subtleties and to make thoseZoom-in on
portraits
Follow Andrew Newton as he demonstrates how
to paint a hyperrealistic-style portrait in oils
textures count.
If selecting a hyperreal image to work
from, try to make it intriguing, unique
and something that inspires you. Select
an image with a varied amount of visual
detail in the composition and diverse
colour tones from extremely bright to
very dark, which will give you a great
tonal range early on. For example, if
you are interested in a portrait, try to
select a subtle laugh or a disgruntled
or sarcastic expression rather than a
clichéd neutral look into the camera
lens. It makes it more inviting and
personal, plus it’s a much more
intriguing portrait to paint.
It’s also important to compose
your images to represent cropped
reality, rather than a traditional layoutDEMONSTRATION Lip Gloss p My reference photograph
Andrew Newton
has a BA in Fine Art. He has exhibited
with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters,
South West Academy of Fine Arts and
the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, where
he has won several awards. He tutors
privately around Surrey and Hampshire,
whilst also instructing art classes at
Arthouse Unlimited. Andrew’s work is
on show at The Ferens Gallery until
April 26. http://www.andrewnewtonart.com composition. I usually select a photo
to work from then crop the image quite
harshly – up-close – to create a sense
of intrusiveness and awkwardness.
This doesn’t necessarily mean to crop
essential parts of a portrait such eyes,
mouth, etc out of the composition
(although you could if desired) but
to capture something more alive and
engaging from a true-to-life perspective. The grid method
I use a stage-by-stage method in
which a grid is applied to the canvas
and photo, and I slowly transfer
visual information section by section.
Many photorealist painters used this
method as a way of dehumanising
their way of seeing, so there is no