Why You Should Be Copying

Transcription

1 Why You Should Be Copying You wouldn t study music by only playing your own compositions or write novels without reading great books. You wouldn t get very far. Yet far too many aspiring painters do just that. In the centuries long context of painting this is a recent development. And a poor one. Every great painter has learned and deepened their understanding and voice by copying their predecessors. Van Gogh copied Millet and Rubens. Rembrandt studied Titian. For aspiring portrait painters the French Impressionist Edgar Edgas is an excellent artist to study. He is one of the major bridges between Classical craftmanship and contemporary expression. In this lesson I will take you through the entire process of painting a portrait in oil using Degas Portrait of Emma Dobigny, 1867.

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3 Activation Oil paint is not opaque; light filters through the layers of paint and is refracted jewel-like back all the way from the initial prime which is the white gesso. Painters who paint at a very high level often opt for a lead-based prime solely for its gentle refractive qualities. For my workshop we use a gypsum gesso which is significantly better than most pre-primed, stretched canvases that are readily available in art stores. Of course you can get ready-made lead-primed canvases, but at a cost. For small paintings, smaller than 30x40 cm, I prefer panels. They are ideal for travel and present none of the issues of canvas which easily loses its tautness and is more susceptible to damage. However, for paintings larger than 30x40 cm I do switch to stretched canvas. At larger sizes panels need to be cradled to prevent warping, plus they have weight issues. Paintings need to be toned. It is both impossible and poor practice to paint on a white surface. You cannot mix color accurately on a white ground; the contrast is just too jarring. The same goes for your palette. Your palette should be a neutral grayish hue. For the price of a single pad of white disposable palettes you should invest in a wood palette that will last you a life time. A very servicable tone is a mixture of Yellow Ochre/Raw Umber/Ivory Black which is highly diluted with a medium of 1 part oil to 4 parts turpentine. Using your absolutely worse, large bright brush streak on the tone and let dry for a week. You will probably want to prepare enough panels for a month s worth of painting. Streak some panels vertically and some horizontally. This allows for flexibility in choosing a streaked panel that is sympathetic to your composition. The streaked panel electrifies your panel and sets up an energy that will be felt in the final result.

4 Your initial strike Learn how to draw with the brush. This is the preferable painterly approach. The problem with first sketching out your painting with a pencil, and to a lesser extent with charcoal, is that you are more likely to take an illustrative approach to painting which is, dare I say it, a second-rate process which is more akin to coloring-in than painting. With a Raw Umber/Ivory Black mix, diluted to an inky consistency but still reasonably transparent, strike the arabesque of the head. The arabesque is the whole outside shape. This is more commonly referred to as the contour, but I prefer arabesque as it denotes a rhythmic quality. Terminology implies intent.

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6 Underpainting There are several approaches to underpainting. In my copy of Rubens Clara Serena the underpainting is fairly resolved and the lights are buttressed with lead white. This is an ideal approach for more studied paintings. But the underpainting needs to thoroughly dry before proceeding. For a portrait oil sketch I work more loosely by first scrubbing in the large dark pattern. The large dark pattern establishes the Notan (a Japanese term for light/dark harmony) which is what sticks a painting to the wall. Note how I energetically cross-hatch in the dark pattern. This corresponds sympathetically with my streaked tone. Remember, Unity is the end-game. Using the tip of a #2 bristle filbert brush I take my first stab at articulating the facial features. I am more interested in getting the correct proportions rather than finely drawing in the eye. If you make a significant drawing mistake you can easily wipe it out with your rag or even smudge it out with a finger. Preferably your own.

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8 The Abbozzo The Abbozzo is the initial dead coloring in. By dead I mean that the first draft of the color is scrubbed in thinly and somewhat transparent. You also want to mix your colors about 10-15% darker than what they will be in the final painting. A major rule in painting is work from general to specific. And also from dark to light. For the flesh colors I began with an initial mixture of Yellow Ochre, tinted Lemon Yellow (tint means adding white), a touch of Vermilion and Burnt Sienna. Other than tinting up my Lemon Yellow I studiously avoid using white, unless I absolutely need to. Too much white and you will chalk out your painting. From my initial dark flesh tone I prepare a middle and a light tone adding more Yellow Ochre and Lemon Yellow. The drawing is further refined as I proceed. The overall proportions are good here but the expression is reading a bit too sour. This is due to a minor drawing error in the upper eye lid and the interstice of the mouth. A small face-lift will correct that. You also need to also consider the background too. Do not feel compelled to completely cover your panel with color. Your toned panel is a beautiful thing. Let it shine through here and there; don t murder it and bury it in the basement. Not only is the Abbozzo about the initial modelling of the form, it is also your first draft of the overall color harmony of the painting.

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10 Figure/Ground Relationship The Figure is the subject of your painting; the Ground is the Background. It is a good practice to first establish the Ground and work forward. For beginning artists it is best to copy faithfully. That is how you will learn the rudiments of color harmony and composition. For more experienced artists you should consider exploring color possibilities. Rather than pursue a warm neutral ground I chose instead a more abstract treatment using a harmony of Blue, Red and Green tint. In terms of color theory: the Blue pushes the flesh tones toward its complement Orange. This is called Simultaneous Contrast. The tinted Red subtly pushes back and cools the flesh tones. The tinted Green strokes balances it all out. Simultaneous Contrast when employed well is what makes color more dynamic. When used poorly the effects of simultaneous contrast will dirty a painting and dull your color. The light passage behind the head is purposeful. It is called Counter Change and creates a stronger three-dimensional effect. By copying and using your knowledge of color theory you will acquire a significantly deeper insight into how color works. Blending versus Knitting Blending is a horrid practice. It is destructive of form and color. Instead the forms and color passages need to be knitted (which is constructive) together, usually by cross-hatching wet-into-wet. We ll discuss this further in the Overpainting. To avoid that cut-and-paste look I knit the the Ground into my Figure by both dragging and cross-hatching the Ground colors into the head. This rough Edging goes a long way toward unifying the painting. Don t worry about losing delicate passages in your drawing. You can and will get ithem back. And better than before.

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12 PARON ART SCHOOL 61 Sukhumvit 26, Bangkok Painting the Portrait in Oil In this immersive workshop you will embark stepby-step through the three stages of oil painting - underpainting, abbozzo (dead coloring-in) and the overpainting. The portrait sketch will already be done on your gessoed and oil-toned panel so no need to worry about the initial drawing. You will be copying Edgar Degas elegant portrait of Emily Daubigny which is ideal for beginning artists. You will learn how to mix realistic flesh tones and model facial form.the French Impressionist Edgar Degas was an exemplary portraitist and continues to strongly influence artists today. Learning to paint portraits from a photograph is a poor approach. The common tendency is for the beginning artist to emulate a photograph. The result is often a dry, lifeless work that, at best, mimics the language of photography. The problem, too, for the beginner artist learning to draw and paint a portrait from life is that the tendency to mimic a photograph is overwhelming. The language of painting is vastly different from that of photography. Every major art school and academy insists upon copying for beginning artists. That is how every master artist has begun their training. Wednesday, 10 October :00 to 18:30 Workshop fee: HB 5,400. A THB 1,000 deposit reserves your spot. PayPal also accepts Credit and Debit Cards All materials are supplied. Included with the Workshop is Michael Britton s Painting the Portrait in Oil. Class size is limited to 10.

13 Overpainting the first pass In portrait painting the sitter is best lit from a single light source that is slightly above and to the side. The further light has to travel the weaker its luminosity becomes. What that means is that the forehead will be lighter than the chin. Also, planes that directly face the light source will be lighter. As a form s planes turn away from the light source they become darker. Your light source should also emulate day-light as closely as possible. If you are one of the very few lucky artists whose studio has north-facing skylights then you are all set. For the rest of us a soft-glow, 60 to 100 watt, day-light bulb is the next best thing. In daylight your portrait lights will be cool and warm-up as they progress into the middle and darker values. The dark values tend to be a mixed bag of cool and warm tones dependant upon the sitter s complexion, the weather, time of day, etc., etc. Again, that is why you need to copy master paintings. You need to first acquire the tools and knowledge of painting. With good practice and diligence this knowledge will become ingrained and your painting will become deeper and more engaging. Window Shading Like pulling down an old-fashioned window shade begin the first pass of your over painting from the hair line and work downwards to the chin. Try to avoid the common tendency to begin with the eyes. You should mix up a dark, a middle and a light flesh value. Divide each of these values into two and mix a warm & a cool dark, a warm & cool middle value, and a warm & cool light value. Hence you will have six hues prepped on your palette which can then be mixed and matched as the situation warrants. Plasticity means giving form to. Using a #2 bristle filbert brush and picking up a discrete amount of paint onto the tips of your brush spot in the color. Each spot should be no larger than a dime or ten-cent coin. Each spot then needs to be knitted to its neighbor and this knitting must pay close attention to the Edging. Generally the more acutely a form turns the harder your edges will be. Forms that turn gently will have a soft edge. Spotting and knitting can be quite intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it your painting will progress fairly quickly and accurately.

14 Thru Thick & Thin The rule of thumb in oil painting is to paint the darks thinly and build-up the light passages more thickly. If your Abbozzo is successfully rendered you can proceed with your middle darks and knit them into the dark passages. No need to redo success. Doing so also results in charming paintings. Degas was quite adept at this. When you are building up the light passages do so gradually. Too much paint on the canvas will create its own set of problems which will then need to scraped off and reworked. You should not just paint over problem areas; scrape the paint down first, then give it another shot. Hold off on your highlights. In fact, underscore the lightest passages about 10 to 20%. You want to make sure everything else is in order before committing to them.

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16 Overpainting second pass A painting that is going well will only need a second pass at the overpainting. It is when minor problems arise that a third or fourth pass might be required. Often painting problems are drawing problems. It is in the second pass that I fully articulate the features. Often the cooler passages in the eye socket and the warm hue of the nose and mouth need attending to. Unless it is absolutely critical to your painting don t bring the ear up to the same resolution as the eyes, nose and mouth. In portrait painting the focal point is the facial arena from the brow ridge to the chin. Everything else is better attended to a bit under-rendered. You don t need to clobber your viewer with distracting details, in fact too much detailing obscures your narrative and can even repel rather than engage the viewer. The Abstract Structural Surface The beauty of oil painting is in how a painting s surface can be built up almost sculpturally. Paintings thrive on contrast: dark/light, warm/cool, large/small passages, contrasting shapes, complementary colors, thin/thick paint, brushwork/knifework, even using your fingers to pull down and flatten a passage. Summary As an artist and teacher I believe that as long as one follows sound painting practice so that your work doesn t physically fall apart (i.e, cracking, flaking, warping, etc.) there is no right or wrong way to expression. There is only the beautiful and the ugly. What beautiful paintings possess is Unity; where the whole is significantly greater than the sum of its parts. And great paintings not only possess a compelling Unity but also a compelling spirt that cannot be fully explained. At the end of the day great paintings defy analysis. Michael Britton October 2017