preventunwantedsurprisesand
accidentsinthecompositionlater,
especiallyif doinga portrait
commission.Workoutyour
compositionalgeneralitiesandvisual
ideaswithpencilorpenquickly.The
geometryoftheportraitorany
paintingbenefitsfromthispractice.
Elementsoflikenessandexpression
canalsobeworkedoutina thumbnail
sketch,whereascompositionof
colourandvalueshouldbeplannedin
a smalloilsketch.
Onecommonproblemoccurswhen
a compositionalsketchonpaperis
madetoa specificshapeand
dimensions,whichdoesn’tquite
matchtheaspectratioofa
commerciallymadesupport.If
attemptsaremadetodescribethe
sketched image exactly as it is on the
canvas, the composition may not fit or
translate well. This has to be
accounted for in advance. Either the
original sketch has to be adjusted to
fit the canvas, or a support should be
custom-made to the correct size and
proportions.5
POSITION
AND CROP
There are useful guidelines
for cropping of the figure. As a rule of
thumb, never crop a figure through a
joint or a major “landmark” – areas
where the bone is visible through the
skin. For example, directly through
finger or elbow joints or directly along
a major fold in clothing. Also, avoid
any part of the edge of the figure
touching the margin of the frame.
The reasons for these general rules
are that awkward cropping through
these points will seem to make that
part of the figure cut off and truncated.Cropping just above or just below a
landmark will not create that awkward
effect. Also, allowing any part of the
figure to touch the edge of the frame
will cause an illusion of flatness in
that area and deny any sense of
space around the figure.
Cropping or letting the figure run off
of the edges of the canvas is fine, and
even necessary as long as it is not
awkwardly done. Most portrait
compositions require cropping of the
body and some artists, such as Edgar
Degas, utilised it as an interesting
design element.6
CONTENT
Content refers to the subject
elements of the portrait, in
particular symbols, objects or pieces
of architecture. If they are to be
included, they need to be planned
and their intentions thought through.
For example, a book in the hand of
the sitter might suggest that they areinterested in reading or are possibly a
teacher. Renaissance portraits of
saints included their “attributes” or
symbols of their life and martyrdom.
These messages to the viewer can be
interpretative or specific, but poor
planning can weaken the composition
as a whole. The choice of positioning,
cropping, colour and shape relative to
the figure and the pictorial frame can
add or detract from the image.
Intention lies in what the artist
wants the portrait composition to
convey to the viewer. While some
artists choose to let the viewer make
their own interpretations, many
formal portraits are designed to
convey a particular mood, feeling,
message or narrative to the viewer in
a particular manner. This very
subjective element of the portrait
composition can also be addressed
by expression in the face, hand and
body language and the whole colour
quality of theportrait.Al Gury, Portrait of Joshua, 2020,
oil on panel, 36x28cm
This alla prima head study is intended to capture
both the structure of the head as well as the
strong character of Joshua. The palette colours
are a mix of Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre and
Burnt Umber, augmented by Cadmium Orange
and Cadmium Yellow.
The American portrait painter Robert Henri
in his wonderful book, 1923’s The Art Spirit,
suggested doing a quick portrait head study of
this type in only 45 minutes to test one’s skill
and abilities.COLLECTION OF THE AUTHOR