PORTRAIT EXERCISES
AIM
Notan is extremely useful when
dealing with figures on busy
backgrounds, full figures or multiple
figures in a scene. A simple Notan
study can indicate the most valuable
shapes and highlight what to prioritise
in the scene.MATERIALS
A canvas board, Carbon Black and
Titanium White acrylic paints and a
0.5-inch flat brushWHAT YOU WILL LEARN
When working from life or a
photograph which shows everything,
your main concern is to edit the
information down.
By employing a Notan study you will
see how to immediately identify the
unwanted clutter and direct light
towards the face.EXERCISE 2
PROCESS
Create quick thumbnail sketches of a selection
of faces using black paint [right]. You could base
the sketches on live models (ask a friend or
family member), photographs or even just
make them up.
The relaxed strokes bring a free-flowing energy
to the sketch as features are implied with one or
two marks, leaving the viewer to fill in the details.
This means as artists we can be analytical about
which brush marks and shapes create the most
pleasing design. (Please note: in my examples,
I’ve allowed the brush to create a few mid-toned
drag marks, whereas a pure Notan contains just
the two values of black and white.)
Add interest by sketching profiles or the
patterning on the face or clothes. These lines
of light or dark can be used to lead the viewer’s
eye to the subject’s face or to break up larger
flat areas.
You could also try painting a Notan portrait
study with white paint on a black background
[right]. It is a little more challenging but provides
different perspectives. As a tool for reference,
just doodling with light and dark shapes is
invaluable and triggers other ideas.
SOLVING THE MAZE
For extremely complicated scenes with
crowds of figures, a preliminary Notan
sketch is invaluable. For my painting of the
Natural History Museum [below], the Notan
study [bottom] looks like an abstract with
an almost maze-like configuration that our
eyes can navigate through as we follow
paths of light.