Painting with a Palette Knife

Paint slapped on with a palette knife

Well three weeks in to my new painting course and not a great deal to show for it yet. It’s at the Art Academy on Southwark Street (so handy for the Tate Modern) and the teacher is full of enthusiasm, support and positivity which is helpful if you produce the sort of nonsense I usually do.

Week one was charcol sketches, fun but I put mine in the bin. Week two was a study in light and shade, so at least we got to use some paint. We had to paint a collection of white objects on a white cloth paying atention to tone and shadow, which was exacting. I did bring the picture home but probably won’t bother to put it up on here as it’s a bit obscure, especially if you didn’t see the original objects. And week three, this study in yellow. The thing about this was that we had to abandon the brushes and use only the palete knife, which I had never done before. The result is a mess as you can see but it was great fun. I really enjoyed slapping the paint on and plastering it all over the place. It is a quick way to paint, though as always the picture would have been better for a little bit more time. Lesson four tomorrow night, I wonder what that will bring.

My Struggle with Life Drawing

Well actually I have many struggles with life drawing as you will know if you look through my blog and see my efforts. Butat the moment I have a particular struggle. Last week I went to the National Portrait Gallery and saw this lovely self-portrait by Paule Vezelay, an abstractionist. I found it inspiring and it made me wonder about a few things.

Firstly, though it may not be obvious from my drawings, I have pretty much been striving to represent what I see in front of me. To copy it as closely as I can. How on earth can I look at a live model and create an abstract like this? Something like the original, yet simplified, stylised, beautiful and communicative.

And secondly, all the efforts so far have been about drawing “the model.” Might it be more interesting to draw “the person” as a recognisable portrait? I have tried a few portraits, some live and some from photographs but neither has been successful in the past. Certainly those kind enough to sit still for me have been un-impressed by the results! I think it’s time to try some more, and if anyone has any tips or advice I’d be very glad to hear them!