Portraits for a client in USA

I have just completed a series of 7 portraits on poster backgrounds of a variety of people ranging from the military to politicians and professionals in various parts of the globe.

The commission for life like representations and accurate logos and emblems was an interesting project. I used acrylic paint as the paper couldn’t be stretched and I had to use as little water as possible so as not to damage the paper surface. The poster was attached very lightly all round with low tack masking tape which worked very well.

This is an interesting substrate to work on and I hope to do more portraits like this.

Pleased contact me if you are interested in something similar.

........and back to dog portraits.

Another recent commission of a very handsome red setter. He looks like a Mike doesn’t he? Red setters are the happy setters. Always smiling unlike the English setters.

‘Mike’ the red setter

and a final version with more highlights and bits and bobs changed

It’s definitely finished and we’re off to the framers in Odiham on Friday for a lovely circular frame to set off the painting. The few changes were needed but eventually you have to hang up the paint brush and stop. I would be reluctant to do another painting like this in acrylic but would be interested in using oil paint for the next one.

The reason is simple. Acrylic paint dries too quickly and blending even when using slow dri medium and water is really difficult. And glazing over the grisaille underpainting is a nail biting nightmare. I regularly had to wash off the glaze or scrape or peel it off and then lie awake all night worrying about how to fix it.

I am now excited to try my hand at a version in oil paint, a medium I haven’t used since Art College.

Richard Lemon Lander after William Brockdon

Scanned version

....and glazes of colour added over the 'grisaille' underpainting.

Wow! Painting glazes with acrylic glazing medium turned out to be a interesting process. Even with slo dri medium the glaze would dry too quickly making the blending of glazes really difficult. Glazes are built up layer by layer to give a jewel like effect when it goes right but can end up being sticky and uneven if the paint dries too quickly. My studio is also quite hot which doesn’t help matters. Glazing small areas wasn’t a problem but large areas of background just didn’t work so I had to repaint the background with a sky effect similar to the portrait by William Brockendon.

As mentioned above the painting is based on the portrait of Richard Lander by William Brockendon 1787 - 1854 and a mezzotint by C Turner which was also based on the Brockendon painting.

Glazes are easier to apply with oil paint as they dry more slowly often taking 2 days to dry. That is a disadvatage in some respects as one has to wait until a glaze is dry before applying another. That is certainly not the case with acrylics. This style of painting is called the indirect method.

Grisaille portrait

This recent portrait commission was of an ancestor of the client and the brief was to create a portrait with a certain age to it. I decided to use the painting technique called grisaille (grey) as an underpainting and then add glazes for colour. The following slide show shows the progress from start to finish of the grisaille technique.

The glazes are not my usual painting technique so I am doing lots of tests with different mixtures of paint and glazing medium and slow dri medium for acrylics. Oil paint takes a up to 2 days to dry so there is plenty of time to get glazes perfect. Not so with acrylic paint especially in a warm studio.

I’ll post more images of the glazes as I complete them.

Unicorns for everyone!

I’ve just completed this linoprint of the unicorns at Holyrood Palace.

Linoprint of Holyrood unicorns.

The unicorn is the official national animal of Scotland even though it is a mythological creature. Stories of unicorns date back many centuries and are featured in the cultures of the classical age including the Babylonians and the Indus civilisation

James II loved the legend, and the unicorn became the symbol of purity and power that Scottish kings and nobility identified with in the 15th Century.

Over time, this led to the unicorn becoming officially recognised as Scotland's national animal.

More recently Unicorns have featured in JK Rowlings ‘Harry Potter’ books where their blood is supposed to give Voldemort a renewed vigour to create more mayhem.

There is a Scottish saying, ‘Unicorns for everyone’ which is similar to the sentiment behind that other well used saying ‘the magic money tree’!

As you enter the gatehouse at Holyrood Palace you will see a relief sculpture of these unicorns. The photo was taken 10 years ago so I have finally got round to carving and printing this print. There are some lovely emblems of Scotland including the national flower the thistle.

Holyrood unicorns

2021 portraits

It has been a busy year for portraits and here is a selection of my favourites.

The common factor is hair! Or fur and hair.

New portraits in 2021

Zana the red setter puppy

April hunting for squirrels

A boy and his puppy

Even more drawing commissions

Another birthday special. The barn door behind the little girl is also a special place for the recipient of the drawing. Drawing old textured objects like this is so suitable for pencil drawings. I was asked to capture the little boy’s cheeky grin and I think I’ve caught that pretty well.

Little american girl

Little american girl

Little american boy

Little american boy

New drawing commissions

It has been such a pleasure to have been asked recently to do drawings for special birthdays. I love using pencil as a medium as it is direct and spontaneous. The poses couldn’t have been more different and ranged from a little girl clutching her unicorn soft toy to a grandfather taking his children out in a rowing boat. I especially liked the comraderie in the pose of the 3 teenagers which was drawn from a photo taken by their mother. However I added the smiles from other photos. Smiles and posing is too much to ask in one photograph! I have another large drawing on the go at the moment which I hope to share on the website soon.

Best friends

Best friends

A helping hand

A helping hand

Rabbit and unicorn

Rabbit and unicorn

3 in a boat

3 in a boat

Little portrait drawings

Drawing children’s portraits from photographs is essential as most people have such busy lives that having sittings for drawings and paintings just no longer works.

I keep it simple with pencil drawings and concentrate on line with some hatched shading.

These were small images for birthday gifts and I gather were well received by the recipients.

I welcome commissions for similar drawings and information can be found on my portrait page.

Recent portraits

I have recently completed 2 portrait commissions of a little girl, one in watercolour and the other in pencil.

The challenge is not to overwork the shading in the pencil drawing or the strength of colour in the watercolour in such a young person.

Likeness is an obvious objective but breathing life into a pencil or watercolour portrait is so important. A sense of immediacy is suggested by the hatched shading lines. Normally I avoid drawing teeth but these baby teeth were irresistable!

I worked from some very good photographs taken by a professional but even good mobile photos make good reference.

Pencil drawing of a little girl

Pencil drawing of a little girl

Little girl and her Doudoutheque & Co rabbit.

Little girl and her Doudoutheque & Co rabbit.

Latest commission. Portrait of Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Speed MBE on Wellesley.

I have really enjoyed doing this commission for Andrew Speed, who as Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Speed, MBE, Scots Guards was the Academy Adjutant from 2010 to 2011.

The drawing depicts the traditional exit from the Sovereign’s Parade of the Adjutant on his white charger following the cadets up the steps of the Grand Entrance of Old College, at Royal Miltary Academy Sandhurst.

Wellesley is a beautiful horse and Andrew Speed says, “The Duke of Cambridge rides Wellesley on Trooping the Colour. However Wellesley never really made it on the parade at RMAS as he hates being on his own and gets very nervy if he cannot see other horses. This was not good for the Sovereign’s Parade as he is one of 2 horses.”

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Speed MBE, Scots Guards on Wellesley.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Speed MBE, Scots Guards on Wellesley.

Framed!

I’ve added a splash of red to my illustration of the adjutant as he climbs the steps of Old College at the end of the Sovereign’s Parade. In the second image here is the finished print mounted on an off white board and framed with a thin black painted wood frame.

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The Adjutant and his charger climb the steps of Old College.

The tradition of the Adjutant on his white charger following the cadets up the steps of the Grand Entrance of Old College, Sandhurst, at the end of the Sovereign’s Parade originates from July 1926.

General Sir Frederick Browning known as ‘Boy’ Browning was then adjutant at Sandhurst and was riding his white charger Spook.

There are a few variations as to why he iniated this; avoiding getting his uniform wet from an approaching storm; after a poor rehearsal Boy rode his charger up the steps to berate the cadets; Ruth Farquhar a family friend suggested it and Boy thought it an excellent idea.

Whatever the reason this feat of equestrian skill has been enacted after the Commandant’s parade and the Sovereign’s parade every year since, barring the war years.

A ready supply of carrots and oats and a few rehearsals helped Spook on his way and no doubt the charger today is just as well rewarded after he enters the large double doors of the Grand Entrance.

Going up is one thing coming down is more difficult so a wooden ramp enables a safe exit for Adjutant and charger after the event.

The traditional exit for the Adjutant and his charger after the Sovereign’s Parade.

The traditional exit for the Adjutant and his charger after the Sovereign’s Parade.