Using paint to portray the qualities of human skin.

Painting flesh - the challenge of portrait painting is something that has mesmerised Artists for centuries.  Each & every Artist deals with it in their own personal manner/style.  Some become obsessed with exaggerating the colours naturally found within in human flesh, whilst others try to capture the translucent porcelain qualities that skin has.  Whether you are concerned with high key colours or muted, pastel shades the journey will be no less challenging, but the outcomes will be totally rewarding.

 

 

For talented South African artist Lionel Smit “painting is like an energy release and at that moment in time the work becomes alive – a paused action. ” He can relate to Jackson Pollock’s “Action Painting” – the controlled release of energy onto the canvas but “unlike automatism there are definite thought processes to digest and manipulate whilst working on a piece”

 

Nick Lepard paintings seen here on the right are a fantastic use of expressive paint.  His colour palette is often quite restrictive (as seen with a broad range of greys) that are then injected with a couple of vibrant high key colours (seen here with the bright turquoise).  He controls & expresses himself through colour media to the greatest of effect.  His drawings are also worth a close inspection.  He uses compressed charcoal to create these (this is not the nasty burnt twigs known as 'Willow charcoal').  Compressed charcoal will allow you to get a true rich black line with the minimum of pressure (without the irritating snap & dust of the previously mentioned variety).  If using compressed charcoal, try using a touch of water, I guarantee you'll love the quality to the line that you achieve.

 

 

Of course anyone that knows me will already know I am obsessed by the work of Lucian Freud, and other portrait painters including Paul Wright, Ben Cohen, David Newman White etc...  Check them out for yourself.

 



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