LOCKDOWN PORTRAITS Part 2
- jamestrueman ESCAPE ART
- Feb 7, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 8, 2022
Series 2 of Portrait Artist of the Week returned in October 2020 with another eight celebrities. Following the same four hour format, each sitter posed for a previous Portrait Artist of the Year series winner. The live broadcasts took place on Facebook for the first three hours. The last hour was joined by audiences from the Sky Arts channel.
In October 2020 Radio 1 DJ Annie Macmanus was the first sitter in series 2. For this portrait I undertook a study in graphite pencil. Although Annie, having dark hair and wearing a dark jumper, I decided not to add large areas of shading as I thought it might look overpowering and detract from her face.
A litte note on graphite pencils:
With Graphite it is a matter of choosing the grade for the effect you are after - if it is fine or dark tone. The degreesof hardness on sketching pencils will be printed on the pencil., e.g.
H = hard B= soft.
HB = "hard black", i.e. medium hard.
While F stands for "firm".
To note that pencils do not have lead in them, but are a mix of clay and graphite.
Adding pressure to the pencil can add lightness or depth of tone. But to be aware that increased pressure this can cause a ‘groove’ in the paper which can cause problem if deciding to erase the mark!
In another episode Professional artist Dorian Radu painted radio presenter Nihal Arthanayake. Instead of a canvas this time I used acrylic pad. The challenge was trying to capture Nihal’s range of darker skin tones. I built up the painting in layers. Unlike my usual approach I sketched out the image and then started painting in detail begining with the eyes and building up the skin tones.
The final painting of Nihal.
Singer Melanie Blatt was the next sitter. For this painting I used gouache. Melanie was very animated in talking with the presenters. In the end I went for a double portrait, looking to capture her infectious smile - while this was not the initial plan but I enjoyed extending the composition with the additional study.
The finished painting of Melanie.
For the portrait of presenter Samira Ahmed, I used a mix of graphite and coloured pencil, which was something of a challenge, as I am less experienced in the medium. Again using coloured pencils (like graphite) with pressure builds up the skin tone. Also holding the pencils at an angle helped cover the surface more quickly with colour.
As I was not so happy with the result I did not submit this to the programme!
The completed painting of Flolla.
Presenter Flolla Benjamin, sitting in November 2020, was another challenge in capturing tones of her darker skin. Starting with lighter yellow ochre tones I then built up the darker tones/shadows.
The following episode in November 2020 was actor and self-confessed art geek Russell Tovey. Unlike the previous portraits I had done on acrylic paper, I did this portrait on a canvas board. I tend to find that working on acrylic paper tends to look more ‘sketchy’ than working on a canvas. I did quick a sketch using brown over yellow background which helped bringing through the lighter skin tones.
My portrait of Russell Tovey displayed on the animated wall of Portrait Artist of the Week!
My finished drawing of Jon.
Also in November 2020 sitting was newsreader Jon Snow. This time I used watercolour pencils. Although you can it is possible to get a watercolour effect, when adding water, I chose not to in the end. I set out to get an effect of him ‘emerging’ from the paper.
The finished painting of Lesley.
In December 2020 Lesley Garrett soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality. Taking on the challenge, along with many of the other artists, I decided to try and depict Lesley in song…With Lesley seated at a piano and against images of birds and branches, I took some licence bringing the wallpaper to life with singing birds.
The completed painting of Dannii.
The last sitter of this series of PAOTY in December 2020 was singer, actress and personality Dannii Minogue. With lack of boards at the time I did this portrait on acrylic paper using mixed media. I think I found this painting more of a challenge. In the end I did feel I had overworked the painting and thought this was less successful, but can’t always get them right!
To watch the PAOTW episode of Russell Tovey being painted by Kemi Onabul please follow the link, or copy into youir web browser:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=823589625070024
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