This continues my commentary on
The Big Painting Challenge and focuses on
the second episode which was about drawing and painting people.
In fairness to the contestants, it also features some of my dodgy drawings of people while working from life!
The reason for including my drawings is because, first, I drew did the drawings in the lecture theatre in the bowels of the National Portrait Gallery on Friday night. I attended a sold out class on
Life Drawing: Sargent Style given by artist
Andy Pankhurst (the link is to his drawings of people from life)
My second reason for posting them is because I've been reflecting on what I thought about second episode since watching it.
I've really found myself wondering to what extent it's now revealing the differences between those who predominantly work from photos ( as a matter of habit) and those who have developed skills in working from life. I've known workshops where people who have been generally regarded as very good artists revealed that they were rather less accomplished when working from life. It's often the case that people can present as quite skilled until you take them out of their comfort zone, away from their time lines, and generally "off piste" when it comes to painting.
I think the practice of working from life is a salient point to raise with those aspiring to improve as an artist. It's working from life which gives you the skills to work from a photo. If you've only ever worked from a photo you're apt to be 'all at sea' when asked to work from life.
The best bit of advice I ever had was to make sure I went back home from my painting holiday and sign up for a life class. That was when I really started to learn how to use my eyes and coordinate what I saw with the marks my hand made. Which is not to say you can do it straight away - as my drawings below will illustrate!
Episode 2: The challenges
I thought the challenges were very fair:
- painting a self portrait in oils
- drawing a stranger in black and white chalks
- painting a 'celebrity' actor
The artists had enough time to do something decent - and yet the time allowed was enough to cause problems for those not used to planning their work or who like painting fast - and then continue and overwork a decent painting.
I was really surprised at just how many demonstrated an inability to draw well from life. I'm thinking maybe it might have been fairer if they'd been given 10 minutes to warm up via some quickies whether we might have seen much better performance by the participating artists. There again I guess they could have sat around with a sketchbook and drawn one another while waiting for that session to start!
In relation to painting, I was surprised that few also demonstrated an ability to think about the four lines around the portrait - and what the best crop might look like. Some were painting without actually making a decent picture.
The Judges' comments
I know some still think their comments are harsh. However they seem to be around the Paul Hollywood or Simon Cowell scale to me ie very direct and very accurate.
Personally I don't have a problem with them - and quite enjoyed watching on Sunday and mouthing quite a few of them before the judges got a chance to say exactly the same thing. I'm guessing there were quite a few other people doing the same thing.
The conclusion
Jan, the retired police sketch artist went home at the end of this week's episode. Which means the judges agreed with
my prediction made last week after the first episode as to who would be next to go.
Oddly, I think the reason he was sent home was because in general he was failing to observe what he saw in front of himself - even when this was a self-portrait. I have no doubt he greatly enjoys painting and will continue to enjoy it in his own unique way.
My prediction for the next episode
Episode 3 is nominally about still life - but actually seems to be about perspective and scale given the diversity of the challenges (see
my last blog post for more details - it's everything from personal objects through giant chess pieces to the facade of Blenheim Palace!).
I'm therefore expecting that those who have been having problems with scale and proportion might well struggle with this one. Looking back over the first two episodes, I'm thinking
Anthea might be in the frame. She's produced some good paintings - but for me she has had the worst fail so far in terms of coping with subject matter which is unfamiliar to her in terms of sizing and poor design and placement within the format. I thought Daphne's description of her last painting as being catastrophic got it about right. Anthea also doesn't seem to be able to stop and start again when she makes mistakes. "Soldier through" seems to be her motto"
This is what her comment is on her profile page
Criticism from the judges was sometimes harder to take than at others. Observe was the main lesson and I learned I was not always accurate. Making sure everything was in proper proportion stuck with me afterwards.
Who do I think will be in the Final
I think I now have two candidates for the final.
Paul Bell continues to impress despite his wobble in drawing this week and making his colours muddy in the painting through over-working. (See website
http://paulbellart.co.uk and
his blog and his post about Episode 2)
However young
Claire Parker has very definitely surged forward this week. Both her self-portrait and her painted portrait of an actor were absolutely splendid. (See website/blog of her year abroad - with added painting:
http://claire-parker.weebly.com plus her Twitter account
@clairesparker)
Top tip from this episode
The bit of advice that all seem to need to remember is
know when you need to stop - and start again or walk away. Some are better than others at this - and I know this is a perennial topic many struggle with! :)
Take a look at this clip from Episode 2 which neatly demonstrates this point.
My drawings from life class
Three x 10 minute drawings
Oddly the class on Friday started with three 10 minute drawings. I'm more used to these coming after the very fast quickies. I need my quickies to loosen up!
signed at a "
