Bath College Portrait Course - Week 7

I have attended two more sessions at the above with mixed results. This week we had a fabulous black model Linda, a very tall statuesque lady, who towered above me. This isn't obvious from the photo but believe me she is tall!  Linda has a company called Kipenzi that sells Afrikan oriented products she designs www.kipenzi.co.uk

Linda 

Linda - Schut Noblesse 40cm x 50cm not

As you can see the sheet of Noblesse, much larger than my normal 16" x 12", is dwarfed by the size of the boards. Most students used sheets of cartridge or similar paper supplied by the college that were board-sized or close to it. I was the only one who painted in watercolour, with charcoal and pastel predominant.

It was suggested by our tutor Jackie that we might like to include her hands, although this wasn't mandatory. She also discussed the use of colour and suggested we emphasize it. As we have Linda for two more weeks I may do a fuller length study. I did a preliminary sketch including the hands but felt I needed a larger sheet of paper. I probably will use a cut down full sheet next week. I'll need to think about it.

After the preliminary drawing, not the easiest as I would have liked to have been closer to the model, which isn't practical given it might block others vision. I then began to paint starting as usual with the eyes, then the nose and mouth.. Colours used  were a mixture of Ultramarine Blue (PB29), Burnt Umber (Pbr7) and Schminke Translucent Brown (Pbr41). I like the Schminke but a bright Burnt Sienna would do equally as well. The hatband includes Cobalt Teal Blue (Daniel Smith PG50). My guru Charles Reid has done many studies of black models, both male and female, and I've gone back to his books, mainly 'Watercolour Solutions', to refresh my knowledge of what colours he uses and how he approaches the subjects. With two more sessions there is room for experimentation. 

I mentioned the previous week. I was still feeling out of sorts and the resulting portrait with the same model as my first two weeks, painted on Schut, was a poor representation. The eyes in particular are incorrect and it is inferior to the one I did on cartridge paper, which is a good resemblance. 

Schut Noblesse 40cm x 50cm not

This was a great session with a fantastic model and lovely lady. She did vary her position a little but this is something that is inevitable with her sitting for the best part of two hours, with only a major half hour break in between. Charles Reid always gives his models a break every twenty minutes. I was pleased with my resulting painting - I'm aware as always that it isn't anywhere near perfect - and look forward to next week.