PAINTING PEOPLE
‘Fishing Whitby’
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT PAINTING PEOPLE
People have been painted throughout the centuries. There are no hard and fast rules about painting people. We can look at various artists such as Renoir, Degas, Gaugin, Lautrec, Van Gogh, to name a few and see how they painted people.
The figure can be part of the landscape or a compositional study. Sketching people can be a rewarding experience in gathering reference for a painting. Life drawing can be a worthwhile thing to do as it gives you an understanding of the anatomy of the figure. The figure can be painted in various ways- Traditional, impressionistic, abstract, or in a design format. It is entirely up to what the artist’s style of painting is.
An understanding of perspective is necessary in placing crowds of figures into a space. The relationship of the figure to what is around it is important. The figure must be the right proportion to a house or a tree for example.
Planning the painting is important. Composition, colour, and all the things we do when painting other subject matter is the same. The use of light and shade to describe the form of the figure is important. The figure can be as simple or as detailed as you want. A figure can be just a few well placed brushstrokes in a landscape.
By looking at various artists and the techniques they used helps us to design a painting from photos or sketches. It can be useful to use a number of photos and plan the composition from them- don’t feel restricted to using just one photo.
A sketchbook can be used to plan the composition in black and white or colour.
Figures can be part of the setting they are in, blended and tonal with merging edges or can be simplified shapes, poster-like, abstract or just outline. Playing around with ideas and interpretations, and planning the work makes it easier when you come to do the final work.
Play around with ideas. Remember what you have learnt about composition- use your intuition- think about what it is you want to say with the painting- it may surprise you to see what you come up with.
We can explore painting a landscape with one or more figures- the figure in an interior setting, and a group of figures together in a design, and the different ways we can approach the subject. Look at the approach of other artists.
There are three steps-
Think about it
Plan it
Do it-Nothing happens unless you have an idea in the first place, or see something that ignites your senses and your imagination.
Val
‘The beach St Ives Cornwall’