Every artist has a favorite model and Amber is without a doubt, mine. She has beautiful bone structure and at the same time a certain softness about her that makes her a pleasure to draw and paint. I did this portrait from a photo that was taken some time back when Amber was pregnant with her son Joshua. It was a rainy, cold day and Amber was standing at the window on a short break. It was the perfect shot so I asked her to hold still while I adjusted the camera. I took hundreds of photos that day but this one was the best. I prefer to work from life, but often my budget or time do not make that possible. Photos can sometimes lead to a stiff or an unnatural looking portrait. This is because when you work from life, the model moves. So the work tends to be a composite of many poses which come together to lend the portrait a certain sense of life. Photos, on the other hand, don't move and this can cause the eye to focus on each portion of the photo separately making for a hard lined and fragmented painting. I think, however, that I managed to retain Amber's special qualities as well as her quiet moment of hopefulness in this portrait.
2 comments:
"This is because when you work from life, the model moves. So the work tends to be a composite of many poses which come together to lend the portrait a certain sense of life."
This is a really interesting point. As an art model I try to not to move at all, although one must breathe. When a pose is resumed after a break, there can be slight changes even if the model is very diligent about remembering placement, taping, etc. I suppose this what "drawing from life" is all about. It's different than drawing from casts, statues, or photos.
The pose can also appear to be shifted if the artist(s) stands in a slightly different spot. This is most obvious when one person complains that the pose is off, but the rest of the group disagrees.
I remember a teacher telling his students "don't chase the pose." I understand this to mean that artists should stick with their original block-in.
Yes, this is all true. At school we have two and three week poses where the model needs to assume the pose every day for three weeks, three hours at a time (with breaks every 20 minutes). They have great body memory for getting back into the pose but we always need at least one or two pose adjustments before we start each 20 minute session and then there are often minute shifts during the pose itself. New students find this particularly difficult to deal with. But, as you say, it's best not to chase the pose if your original block-in is accurate and appealing. Thanks for your comments.
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