Go for excellence in portraiture

[Sharon Knettell]

Actually it was Bill Whitaker's profound observation that started this discussion. I think it should be reread by all of us.

I have read to the arguments both pro and con vis-a-vis the use of photography. Somehow I cannot imagine Sargent snapping Lady Sasoon's picture, bowing out gratefully and tacking the reference to his easel to finish the painting.

I have some beautiful photos of a Eurasian student of mine at RISD. She has gone back to Japan. I would love to use them, but I keep hoping I will find another model that could substitute.

I am not negating some of the fine work that has been done from photographs, but I am saying, it seems to be increasingly the modus operandi, and I think realism is suffering because of it.The arguments I have read seem to say that, yes, because of the state of portrait art, they are a necessity. Also, models are expensive and hard to find. I have not seen an argument that photography is a better source, only a more convenient one.

I can only speak for myself . When I first started using models it was like looking at my subject without a scrim in front of her.

"For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face."

[Steven Sweeney]

(If this isn't the right article, Sharon, give a shout.)


A Bastion Against Cultural Obscenity

In a speech delivered at Burlington House last night, the critic Robert Hughes calls for a revitalised Royal Academy to defend art against the degrading power of the wealthy collectors.


Many years ago, when I was still cutting my first pearly fangs as an art critic, one thing used to be taken for granted by me and practically everyone I knew in what is so optimistically termed the

[Sharon Knettell]

Thanks Steven, It is!

[Kimberly Dow]

Sharon, I admire and respect your work and your decision to work only from models.

As you pointed out yourself - you havent done commissions since realizing the client wont sit for you. Most here on this site are looking to paint commissions - it is primarily a site made up of portrait artists, not figurative artists.

You point out above that people are saying models are hard to find and expensive. But - the folks here who do commissions arent painting models - they are painting clients who hire them. This is classic apples and oranges.

How many Governors, Senators, 5-year-olds or even housewives are going to sit for an artist? Not to mention dead people. Sure, it's a great thing to want to change the business. If we all go on strike perhaps in 30 years there might be a switch and folks will make the time to sit for artists again. I could also give all my money and food away to help end world hunger. It is noble and admirable, but unrealistic.

Bill did start this thread - and his call to work more from life is one we should all heed. When the wording gets so strong as to say we should all give up photography completely, then who can listen? Bill knows that it is necessary at times - Ive seen his portraits done from photography as well. And his point that working from life makes all the difference - sure shows in his skill when he has to use a photograph.

So, while most agree that life practice will make a world of difference in their art - most can not do what you did - and many wouldnt want to anyway because they like painting commissioned portraits. For you to work only from life you now paint figuratives and sell them after they are completed. That is primarily what Bill does also I believe.

Incidentally, it is also what I do. And perhaps that explains why I am taking you on about this issue. As a figurative artist, theoretically I could use models live since I am not painting for a client. If I had a spouse that helped pay for the expense or if I sold more of my paintings at higher prices. And someday I expect to. In the meantime, Im not about to be embarrassed of my work because it wasnt created in the way classical tradition commands. No matter how much you rant.

I dont think there is much we disagree on - except how far you take it in your wording. Your wording, to me at least - seems to be saying we should be ashamed of ourselves. (Have I mentioned you remind me of my mother?) Ive seen so much wonderful work on this site using photographs and those artists have no reason to feel ashamed. Not striving to try to do out best, to get the best training we can (which includes training from life) or not learning to take decent photographs would be reasons to feel ashamed.

And lest we forget - there are many types of painting styles out there. This is certainly a site for artists who work in a classical realistic style, but it isnt the only style out there. I cant speak for anyone else - but I love a lot of work that isnt done in the traditional ways.

I think the only thing any of us should ever feel ashamed about is if we stop trying to improve - or give up all together.

ps. Im wondering if you would take my children for a week or two? I know you dont have children, but your 'guilting-skills' are really good. Im thinking you could have my kids shaped up in no time flat. I cant afford models, but I could scrape up the money for that.

[Kimberly Dow]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Kim. You have done some remarkable work.

I'll admit to being hopelessly shallow. That's good enough for me (for now) - rant on. Later I will expect to be called 'Master'.

I'm kidding - dont hit me!

[Alexandra Tyng]

Originally Posted by Kimberly Dow

I'm not about to be embarrassed of my work because it wasnt created in the way classical tradition commands. . . .
Not striving to try to do our best, to get the best training we can (which includes training from life) or not learning to take decent photographs would be reasons to feel ashamed.

And lest we forget - there are many types of painting styles out there. This is certainly a site for artists who work in a classical realistic style, but it isnt the only style out there. I cant speak for anyone else - but I love a lot of work that isnt done in the traditional ways.

I think the only thing any of us should ever feel ashamed about is if we stop trying to improve - or give up all together.

Thanks for saying this, Kim. I couldn't agree more.

[Paul Foxton]

Being that I'm (re)learning and that I'm a new kid here I tend to keep my head down, but since Patty has called me out in this thread already I'd like to add my two small pennies.

I'm not going to comment on using photos for professional work, because I'm not currently professional. I have done it before though, many yeas ago, and I expect I'll have to again when I turn professional. What I would like to comment on is the idea that working from photos is an acceptable way to learn.

I don't see is why using photos for expediency's sake should preclude anyone from working from life. Or why not having available models should preclude anyone from working from life. Life is all around us, it couldn't be more available.

My models are the people down at my local cafe, (very undisciplined, but they come in great variety and great numbers.) They're also pieces of fruit and veg, my own head, or my eye or hand. If I'm feeling particularly reckless, I ask visiting friends if I can draw them while we chat. I'm not trying to put myself across as some paragon of virtue, I'm just saying that it's really not difficult to find subjects to work from, as long as you accept that they won't be ideal. Life isn't ideal, but that doesn't mean it's not worth living, or drawing for that matter.

Originally Posted by Steven Sweeney

I learned to see

This, for me, is what working from life is all about. It doesn't matter if I'm working from a person or a pomegranate, I'm after the same thing, I want to see it as it really is, then attempt to transfer some of what I see to my paper or canvas. To me, if I work from a photo, I'm left with what the camera thought was worth noticing, not what I thought was. I find that the more I work, the finer the resolution of my eye becomes and the more I see. I don't think I'd get that quite as much if I learned by working from photos.

The other day when I was drawing my eye, I noticed a small flap of skin in the corner of my eye called the plica luminaris. To students of anatomy this will be old news, but to me it was a small revelation, I'd never seen it before and didn't know it existed until I drew it. Would I have noticed it if I was working from a photo? Possibly, but only if it was an extreme close up. I think it's unlikely.

Drawing brings us into a different, a deeper and more fully experienced relation to the object.

This quote from the piece above by Robert Hughes says it all. In my very humble opinion, students of drawing and painting are doing themselves a great disservice if they work from photos. Working from life, as well as being more challenging, brings you into closer contact with the world around you. I believe our visual sense has been dulled by the daily battering it takes from the media. It's necessary to learn to see all over again if we want to really appreciate the complexity and beauty of the smallest objects we come across in everyday life, which we ordinarily wouldn't spare a second glance.

It would be very tidy if I could now back that up with a post of a wonderful drawing from life, unfortunately I can only do the from life part. This is a sketch I did in the cafe Saturday morning of an old guy sitting near me. He looked worn out, something in me responded to that. I hope I'll eventually get to a stage where I can put that kind of thing across in a drawing, but I know that's going to take years. In the meantime, I got some practice in, enjoyed myself, and my model was free.

Not being professional means I have no troublesome clients wanting this or that, I have the luxury of working how I choose. None of the above is intended as a criticism of the people here who work from photos, I'm just trying to explain what I think I get from working from life, and why it's so important, when you're learning and especially when you're having to teach yourself, to give yourself the best training you possibly can.

[Steven Sweeney]

Paul,

Your extraordinary gift of that post has likely had ink-jet printers running all day to get a hard copy for repeated examination.

It has steeped in me, as well, all day, and I keep coming back to your sketch, which leaves nothing essential left unsaid. That isn't the sort of thing that just leaves the banker or the marine biologist saying, "I wish I could do that." It leaves a lot of artists saying the same thing, and as importantly, resolving to.

We are largely inhabitants of lives of our choosing. You've made some great choices.

That's quite a gift, and it was most generous of you to give it away.

Well done. Thank you.

[Paul Foxton]

Apparently I write better than I paint, maybe I'm in the wrong job

Seriously though, Sharon and Steven, thanks for your comments.

Originally Posted by Steven Sweeney

and as importantly, resolving to.

I hope so! Apart from being good practice, drawing people in cafes is probably the most fun you can have with a pad and pencil.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Paul,

I'm really glad you described how you find things to sketch in everyday life. It's such a natural way to learn. I guess I can relate to it because I'm more interested in "catching" people at their usual activities and in their typical environments than in posing them under consistent lighting conditions in the studio. It's a great way to practice drawing and to think about how to portray the essential characteristics of someone. For most of my childhood and adolescence I did the very same thing (in a more primitive style befitting my age,of course) and I never thought of it as practice or learning, only as fun. Later, in high school, I got a little more serious with some figure drawing, but I still filled up sketchbooks. I'm really just reiterating what you said, but also thinking of how it is one of the best ways to learn, especially if you don't have a lot of time. Now I usually keep my sketchbook at home unless I'm sketching for a portrait commission, but I think I'll start carrying it around. Time for a bigger handbag! Thanks for the great idea.