2 days of 30-minute portraits from life
Doing quick portraits is the art equivalent of speed dating!
Hosted by Heart Of The Tribe for Somerset Art Weeks, I spent the weekend of 8th/9th October doing quick sketches of visitors, raising money for local food distribution charity Love Glastonbury.
It was quite the rollercoaster (11 portraits in 2 days), so I wanted to record and dwell on the charms of each portrait sitter:
Day 1 - outside in the gallery garden
Sarah Griffiths
Sarah, a Jazz singer who also works at the gallery, graciously volunteered to be my first appointment. This really helped me relax - as a performer (see below), she has a wonderful presence, and I felt safe that she was happy to have a lively portrait, rather than a sanitised ‘homage’!
Ingeniously, Sarah then used her own portrait on reception as an example when inviting other people to book. Anyway, enough about that... THIS is Sarah. Guaranteed goosebumps! I am so happy I didn’t hear this until after I drew her, I would have been completely startstruck and unable to operate a pencil! See her website for more.
4 years young
Gorgeous Jago was a bundle of fun - totally up for the portrait process, but naturally not wired to sit still. Although we could have used a photo, the experience of sitting and seeing your portrait ‘hot off the press’ is, I think, part of the fun. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did. He chose for his top to be red
Flo
Despite her tender years, and my saying the image would have a downcast face, I was SO impressed that Flo opted to be looking at her phone while she sat. The result is one of my favourites from the day, helped by the direct sun on her left. Her T shirt featured caricatures of the “Friends” sitcom cast, so at the end I invited her to colour in Chandler’s hair.
Amelia
Young people are notoriously tricky to draw, on account of their smooth skin and perfect features! Amelia was a wonderful sitter, still and composed throughout the process, despite the sunlight in her left eye which made for a really striking effect - cast shadows are SO useful for capturing form, and transparency.
The trio:
Maya
Maya was looking for a profile picture for her business. We had a fascinating conversation about how she helps people connect with colours, and use them to express and influence their mood.
She had a particularly flattering sugar almond pink gilet, and I’m pleased to say was delighted with her portait. I can attest from personal experience that when life is full and relentless, it can (if you embrace it) be a very grounding experience to sit and be drawn.
Wil I Om
Wil is a core artist at Heart Of The Tribe gallery, and was working/demonstrating alongside me in the garden, using his trademark painting medium: espresso! Wil plans to give his portrait to his mum. I found myself hoping that one day my children would do the same for me. It was lovely to spend time with Wil, we listened to a recording of music that he’d played in the gallery garden recently, and talked about whatever it is that artists talk about. Will was a great subject, and asked for his headscarf to be red. See Wil’s work on his gallery profile here
Beth
So here’s a lovely story - Beth brought glamour to proceedings (she once won a Daenerys lookalike competition!) with brilliant lipstick and fantastic fake fur epaulettes. I know from experience that some people just don’t like their portraits, and sometimes it takes a while to get past the surreal experience of seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes. I try not to put people under pressure to give a ‘verdict’ for my sake, reassuring them if there’s anything they’d like adjusted that I’m not sensitive about changes. So Beth’s portrait was one of those where I wasn’t 100% sure she was convinced… and I mulled over it for the rest of the day. Anyway, you have to let these things go, so I did. But then, imagine my delight when Beth appeared the following day, having booked another sitting - because her mum wanted the portrait, but Beth didn’t want to hand it over! It was nice to be able to draw Beth inside on Sunday, giving quite a different lighting effect.
Day 2 - Inside the gallery
Francesca
I was drawn to Francesca’s confidence in herself as a woman - her warm autumn tones matched her personality. She had a beautiful set of necklaces, and complementary layers of clothing - Francesca allowed me a few extra moments to capture that wonderful décolletage.
Michelle
When people sit, I usually ask if there’s anything they particularly want captured/downplayed. Michelle is a warm and natural connector with people. She asked me to capture that softness - and we enjoyed a lovely conversation while she was drawn - the time flew. Those are Sarah Trenchard’s wonderful colourful paintings behind her.
Debbie
Debbie (‘Debs’ to me) is a close friend of over 30 years. It’s typical of Debs that she booked in and travelled to Glastonbury, without telling me, so she could support my charitable and artistic endeavours. Summer Solstice ‘twins’, Debs and I have been connected through motorbikes (hers was bigger than mine), taekwondo (she’s a blackbelt), art, knitting, joie de vivre, and grit. She has been a role model and inspiration to me since my early 20s - not least her parenting style (the proof is in the pudding!), and I was so happy to have the chance to try and put all of this into her portrait.
The Lovers
Rodrigo and Jana saw my portrait of Sarah, and asked for a double one. I just had one slot left at the end of the day, and knew I’d be tired, but couldn’t resist pushing the boat out. There are several extra considerations in a double portrait: The risk (of messing up) is double, because if one goes wrong I’d have to restart both. It is compositionally challenging to get the perspective of the heads relative to each other. It’s a tall order to sit still for an hour, so I dotted between the two images, meaning the person not being drawn could relax. They were brimming with young love, he was adamant the hat (a gift from her) was to stay - I thought his hand round her was a lovely detail to include too. As a knitter, her top was a gift!
During the short time we are together, both the sitter and I put ourselves out on a limb. Even though we’ve never met, we bare a particular part of our souls to each other. The sitter is generally very invested in the outcome, sometimes looking to know how they’re seen, maybe looking for a gentle reflection of how they feel, sometimes just curious to see what I can manage.
For my part, the responsibility of holding their money, time, and expectations can feel daunting to say the least. The ‘reveal’ is particularly nerve-wracking. And the middle part before the drawing (hopefully) comes together!
Capture a likeness (internal and external) is a lifelong journey, and I am grateful to every sitter who puts their trust in me, whether for a quick sketch or a large oil painting.
Never, though, has it been trivial. In the process of intense observation, I do fall somewhat in love with every sitter - so in that sense it’s maybe not like a speed date.
Well, that’s all folks, thank you for reading! I hope this gives a sense of the joy I feel connecting with people in this way, and the lovely atmosphere at Heart Of The Tribe. I am so grateful to all the staff for facilitating such a wonderful experience.
So, a question… what would you hope for in a portrait of yourself?
