Philip Proctor: a five sitting oil portrait.

And here's another painting that's a good example of a speedy oil portrait. This was done in five or six sittings. It's painted in oil and in tempera and if you click to look at the enlargement you can see the brush marks are all still there and they somehow describe the important parts of the face and expression. I hope it gives the feeling that you know the sitter. These head and shoulder oil sketches make a traditional yet lively portrait.

Dark hair and Blue Eyes

Here's another traditional coloured Chalk portrait that I did recently. Issy is in her early teens and sat for two hour-long sittings. These finished chalk drawings are always a joy to do. The drawing is fresh and quick but somehow captures the detail of face and hair. The live sittings are both a pleasure in terms of the drawing and getting to know one's sitter. These drawings make a lovely present both for young and older subjects.

Here's a large painting that I finished earlier this year. Professor Richard Ross and his family sat both as a group and as individuals. These family portraits are a fantastic thing to do. Here is a record of five people and a dog, their house, an imagined view of Derbyshire including Winn Hill in the Peak District and Richard's allotment and bee hives. I hope it will outlive us all. It's painted in very traditional oil paint on canvas, with egg tempera to make the tones subtle and washes of varnished colour to enrich the hues.

This was a bonding experience. I got to know all the sitters over many sittings each and together. It was a joint family effort and has resulted in a lasting record of the greatest institution we ever belong to. We need to celebrate the family more, we all move on, rush about and travel the world and we need this sort of bonding, timeless record. I believe in my product!

You can see the finished canvas in my studio. Othello, the black dog on the floor, is a pretty big chap, which gives an idea of the size of the picture.

Here are some studies that I made of the two boys as individuals, before assembling the whole.

Portrait of a Barrister

I'm always surprised at how folk have the time to keep updating these blogs. I've neglected mine and will try to make amends.

Here's a picture of Guy Wyatt, Barrister. He sat in his wig and court dress for a chalk drawing and looks the part! These chalks are done in two or four sittings from life and make a fine record of likeness in a limited number of sittings. The professional portrait makes an impressive image and captures an important part of the sitters life.

It's always a pleasure to get to know one's sitter. Finding out about their profession or trade is a pleasure and an education.

First Entry in a year! Painting David Haslam

Well the trouble with being a portrait painter is that there's just no time to blog! It's nearly a year since I last wrote anything and I have done a lot in that time but not had much leisure for updating.

David Haslam, retiring President of the Royal College of General Practitioners was the first big job of last year and was painted from spring to autumn, I drew and painted a series of adults and children, Professor Barry Hancock, Mr Phil Proctor, Dan and his brother, two delightful small boys. I've done pen and wash drawings, here's Caroline... lectures and demonstrations, been on the television and worked to get the studio in good order. I now have two families and a set of grown children from a third family, all to paint and to draw so there's no let up.

Then I think and email Don about why God and Brahman are not controlling my folly and how they enable me to make silly mistakes even tho they control the universe, I cycle and just about keep the fittness going despite the terrible weather.

So what shall I talk about, suffice to say that drawing children is always a pleasure, so I'll talk about that next time, I'll describe painting an official portrait and the excitement of painting in front of 100 people at a demonstration. But I'm in need of my lunch so all three of you will have to do something more sensible than reading this...

Bing

Snow and frustration

It’s been a frustrating time preparing for an exhibition in Cambridge and not much painting, all publicity and organisation. But today I have had 2 sitters back to finish off. Paintings are in some ways only finished when they are beyond reach and one cannot do any more to them, keep em around and there will always be more to do. Four frames arrived today in big boxes, looking forward to the unpacking and seeing what the pictures look like, dressed.

But all's well walking at night with the dogs. So cold after four days of snow and now the coldest night of the winter and a there’s a moon! A fine, high three quarter moon shining in thru the woods and the tree branches dogs and me we all have crisp silhouette shadows the dogs paws click clack on the frozen path and swish in the snow and crack thru the frozen mud. What a joy to be out at midnight in woods so cold and and the branches’ shadows patterned onto the snow so bright in the moonlight it’s clearer than in the day. Half a million people asleep or watching cras Ross on the television and all only twenty minutes from this heaven, timeless as a Breugel snowscape or a medieval hymn, a christmas carol or Victorian elegy. White slim Chillie does her fifty yard sprint ahead, turns and greyhound and gazelle leaping thru snow and onto and off the path and now behind, growls at sturdy steady Othello black against the snow and then she’s off ahead again.. heavy black beast trips sturdily on smelling badger and fox and keeping his turn or speed for the chase. Down off the path to collect wood from my pile and youthful Chillie leaping up at the log on my shoulder and the moon separating shadow from dog and then bouncing them together again as she falls. Snow drifted and deep here and I should have bought gaiters , cold in the boots… Swap shoulders to ease the pain of carrying in the fire for some evening in the autumnand back to the road and the neon takes out the shyer moon and turns the shadows to a dirty yellow slushy brown and down the snow covered road to home. Toast and fill the bread machine and world music on Radio three and bed.

Celebrating being alive, with the dog.

Dog walking. There are bits of ordinary days that are closer to the essence. If painting is worth the effort of doing or being looked at, then it must be touching something essential. So what is essential? Dog walking gets there, ticks lots of boxes.
I just went out, it's new years day, it's very cold and there's a hoar frost magically placed just on the tops of the trees and not on trunk or ground. The valley looks as if it has been glazed with icing sugar, swept with a wand by an ice queen, beautiful and blessed. I'm 56 and have never quite seen the like. So the dog got me out and the year is only hours old and life is lovely, I'm humbled and elevated and enriched.