by KAY JAMIESON No. 2 Tips on Drawing Portraits Having established some proportions in our portrait we can also think about adding tone, or shadows, ie. the range of light-to-dark areas which help to suggest three dimensions on the flat surface of the paper. It is helpful to make a black and white scale like this... Shading can be done with a pencil or ball-point in a cross-hatching style or more evenly using a brush with watercolour, or charcoal. Try experimenting with different media. Notice the direction of the light before shading the features which are in shadow. Note that cast shadows, those that are caused by an obstruction to the light, such as the nose, will have a harder edge than shadows which describe a rounded form like a cheek. Mark the areas of darkest tone (black) then gradually add the two or three mid-tones where necessary, adjusting as you go. If all the shadows are the same tone it will tend to ‘flatten’ the drawing. Remember, you are aiming to create the illusion of forms receding in space.
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This passage was originally for Authors Electric in 2013 and celebrates when Kay Jamieson and I 'eloped' to Gretna Green to get married.
Lines Written For an Auspicious Occasion |
The summons having woken me, I hied, Caring no whit for time or even tide, Toward the north, where Solway runs its course Through Scotia's windy plains where lies its source, Where Devil's Porridge boils, where fields are bleak And Burns the ploughman makes his rough verse speak. My spirits droop as further still I tread, When suddenly, like Lazarus from his bed, They rise, as Gretna's purlieus do me face. For here a miracle I see, a blessed place, A sanctuary, alive with tree and flower, With many a bubbling stream and bosky bower, Colourful, lush, abundant, leafy, ferny, Another Hidcote, Sissinghurst, Giverny. Nature and man together made this scene. What beauty now? What barb'rousness has been? But soft. Figures approach. What is their quest? Do they mean harm or are they for the best? A ministrant? Who to? What does she carry? A book? A register of those who marry? Are those her acolytes who shyly pace And in the tiny belvedere take their place? And why so quiet? Breathlessly they stand. Surely some revelation is at hand? Yes. Two I had not thought to see draw near To start a journey set for many a year. For sure, there's something rakish in their mien. Have they eloped? To here? To Gretna Green? Their tryst is secret. Is it racked with guilt? Are heirs disowned? Are families split? Blood spilt? Not so. They glory in their escapade, Proceeding joyfully once their choice was made. The bride is beautiful in royal blue. The birds are hushed in awe; the squirrels too Pause in their business as she passes by. "Did you not see my lady," is their cry, "Go down the garden smiling?" As her swain, Faithful and loving, free from every strain, Beside her walks, engarbed in sober grey, Savouring this moment, knowing it will stay, The sea doth murmur and the very tide. On Solway's firth doth turn and softly glide Towards the land to hear the rite, the vow Confirming that, oh yes! they're married now. The ceremony is short. The ministrant's soft, Mellifluous voice sends loving thoughts aloft. Hymen, the god, and Cupid, meddlesome boy, Hasten to Earth to join in all this joy, To make a fitting end to this great day And wish all happiness to Dennis and Kay. |
We lived for five years right on the beach in Papua New Guinea where sometimes the sea came right up into our garden, and when the waves were high it felt like being in a ship at sea! At night we could watch the fishermen out with lamps on each tiny boat, stringing their nets between them to catch the fish as they swam up towards the light.
A lot about painting is in catching the atmosphere and transmitting the feelings that stir us onto the blank page in front of us. Seeing the painting again later can transport me back to how exactly how I felt at that moment, sitting beneath the trees and listening to the gentle stirring in the leaves above.
ROSIE “Well, it depends. There are two ways of looking at it. Contemplation and action. Contemplation belongs to the inner man. Action is an extension of this inwardness. One needs to wait until one is possessed. It is like religion.A painting is not a painting until one is possessed. A religion which lacks possession is not a religion.”
QU “Are you saying that a religion is not a religion unless it has a technique of possession attached to it?”
ROSIE “Yes. A religion is like painting. It is something to be experienced. This is why it is so uncomfortable to exhibit them. One is turning a private space into a public arena.”
John realised that what Frances painted showed both her pain and her pleasure. Was she, and were the pictures, crying out to be looked at and appreciated by others, or was the act of creation enough in itself?
QU “I listened to John Cage's 4. 33” at a concert last week. 4.3 minutes of silence. The pianist sat motionless at the piano.Her fingers outstretched and tense ready to play.The cellist raised his right eyebrow indicating to her that she should start. She sat there and did nothing. The cellist, reflecting her silence, sat motionless again with his arms poised as if to strike the first note.”
ROSIE “ I know the piece. He is allowing us to experience the silence as a composer, not just a listener.The room was filled with people some of whom were drawn into the silence. It felt like a cathedral. We were held in that state of being that perfect attention creates. ”
QU “Yes. He is allowing the audience to experience the power of silence. The possession, and the action that follows from the possession of silence, and from which compositions are made and played.”
ROSIE “ What Cage did was to take that private space into a public space. What the audience then did with it was up to them.”
QU “ Yes. The silence is there for us all.It comes and goes with one's awareness. One has to listen for it. It can come spontaneously when one is alone, or holding someone one loves, or just by walking in the woods. The point is to be able to recognise it.”
ROSIE “There are times in one’s life when one's inner state matches that of the world and there appears to be no way out.There is no starting all over again with a new beginning. One just has to start where one finds oneself, within that silence, and pick up the pieces and start all over again. With art there is always an empty canvas.”
QU “What are you working on now?
ROSIE “The sensuality of the land. The sheer eroticism of it. It is like flesh. I want to stroke it.I want to grab and mould it.”
Recent landscapes by Rosie 250 x 105mm
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In conversation with Rosie Phipps
ROSIE “Well, it depends. There are two ways of looking at it. Contemplation and action. Contemplation belongs to the inner man. Action is an extension of this inwardness. One needs to wait until one is possessed. It is like religion.A painting is not a painting until one is possessed. A religion which lacks possession is not a religion.”
QU “Are you saying that a religion is not a religion unless it has a technique of possession attached to it?”
ROSIE “Yes. A religion is like painting. It is something to be experienced. This is why it is so uncomfortable to exhibit them. One is turning a private space into a public arena.”
John realised that what Frances painted showed both her pain and her pleasure. Was she, and were the pictures, crying out to be looked at and appreciated by others, or was the act of creation enough in itself?
QU “I listened to John Cage's 4. 33” at a concert last week. 4.3 minutes of silence. The pianist sat motionless at the piano.Her fingers outstretched and tense ready to play.The cellist raised his right eyebrow indicating to her that she should start. She sat there and did nothing. The cellist, reflecting her silence, sat motionless again with his arms poised as if to strike the first note.”
ROSIE “ I know the piece. He is allowing us to experience the silence as a composer, not just a listener.The room was filled with people some of whom were drawn into the silence. It felt like a cathedral. We were held in that state of being that perfect attention creates. ”
QU “Yes. He is allowing the audience to experience the power of silence. The possession, and the action that follows from the possession of silence, and from which compositions are made and played.”
ROSIE “ What Cage did was to take that private space into a public space. What the audience then did with it was up to them.”
QU “ Yes. The silence is there for us all.It comes and goes with one's awareness. One has to listen for it. It can come spontaneously when one is alone, or holding someone one loves, or just by walking in the woods. The point is to be able to recognise it.”
ROSIE “There are times in one’s life when one's inner state matches that of the world and there appears to be no way out.There is no starting all over again with a new beginning. One just has to start where one finds oneself, within that silence, and pick up the pieces and start all over again. With art there is always an empty canvas.”
QU “What are you working on now?
ROSIE “The sensuality of the land. The sheer eroticism of it. It is like flesh. I want to stroke it.I want to grab and mould it.”
Recent landscapes by Rosie 250 x 105mm
To most of us a portrait means a recognisable likeness. We judge a portrait by how well it represents the subject - in looks, manner, character, etc. For an artist this involves keen observation and careful measurement. Is the face round or rectangular? What is the distance from the top of the head to the chin compared with that from ear to ear? Features may be beautifully drawn but if they’re in the wrong place the result is not pleasing. In landscape or still life genres objects can be rearranged to suit the composition but not so in portraiture (unless you are Picasso!) |
Once the shape of the face is outlined with vertical centre line and horizontal halfway measurements marked, divide into three sections, the first line indicating eyebrows, the second line the end of the nose. Between the top third and halfway lines is the position of the eyes. The lower third is divided into three to indicate mouth and chin. Ears are generally situated between the brow line and tip of the nose in a frontal view.

Lastly, practice, practice and practice some more.
I hope my portrait drawing tips help you.
Have fun!
It was like greeting old friends to see them all once more. Several are enticing me back into their pages. Can I remember everything...certainly not! But, it brought home to me how our minds and perspectives are fashioned by the information and knowledge we allow in. The more we read, the broader the scope of subjects, of opposing opinions not just those supporting our view, the more we open our minds.
Our universe is a vast place of incredible complexity and diversity that we are only scratch at the surface of in our understanding. My own journey has lead me down numerous paths of investigation as I mined for information. In my books my intention is to provide readers with accessible insights into a fascinating arena by distilling information and opening doors into areas they might want to delve into more.
With this in mind to encourage more reading and to support fellow authors I am posting a Recommended Read every week on my own BLOG, Instagram - KarenLFrenchSymbolism and Facebook.
Happy reading!
Recommended Reads...so far
Crystal and Dragon: A Cosmic Two Step by David Wade This goes into pattern sharing in depth! Fascinating. A great supplement to my The Hidden geometry of Life since I summarise pattern sharing in two chapters. |
Square, Circle, Triangle by Bruno Munari An excellent book called Square, Circle, Triangle by the acclaimed giant in 20th Century design, Bruno Munari (1907 - 1998). A hugely prolific talent. He provides plenty of extra examples of these three simple, fundamental shapes in different cultures and applications (games, design, architecture, sculpting...). |
How to Find Your Inner Demons, Destroy Them and Set Yourself Free
So onto the self-help book available in kindle now, and in paperback in the new year.
I have always been interested in the mad world of adults where rational decisions often seemed to be made irrationally, or at least so it seemed to me as a child. This curiosity turned into more than an interest when I not only noticed that most adults behaved this way, but I did too.
It was a desire to escape from my pre-ordained destiny that set me on the path to search for something that works in helping me avoid it. On a personal level, I don’t wish to lie on a psychologist’s couch and have the ‘techniques’ applied to me when if ‘one can be truly honest with oneself’, you will find the gifts within that truth and honesty all by yourself.
This I can do. Anyway that works for me.
by DEBBIE MARTIN
You write a children’s book – well, four actually!
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