Lansdown Art Club: A return visit by Kate Smith

A RETURN visit by Kate Smith on Tuesday, April 12, gave Lansdown Art Club the opportunity to watch a portrait take shape.

Again, only using the three primary colours, she applied the skin colour while coping with the change from daylight to artificial as the evening progressed.

To get a likeness she explained how she studied the model, looking for any outstanding features, before progressing to note the length and shape of the nose, shape and colour of eyes and any lines on the forehead, around the eyes and around the mouth.

She sketched the head in white pastel making sure of the shape of the skull, showing how adding the hair to a skull that had been painted as carefully as the face, prevented it from looking like a wig.

All this is done with care not to produce a caricature of the model.

Although the finished portrait left no doubt as to who had been the model, Kate said she felt that it was important a sitter should see the portrait gradually, as a painting can differ considerably from a photograph and she will often get the sitter to use a mirror before they see the actual painting.

Picture of the Month was won by Peggy Ward with an oil painting where the light had been done with dramatic effect.

The next meeting is on Tuesday, May 10, at 7.30pm, in Sainsburys cafe when we shall have a Members Night.

We ask members to take a Still Life or other subject of their choice, so they can draw and paint in their chosen medium.

Making this change from our more usual demonstrations enables members to interact, help and encourage each other.

We look forward to seeing members and visitors at our 50th Birthday Exhibition in the Stroud Subscription Rooms, Saturday, April 23, to Friday, April 29, excluding Sunday, April 24.

Admission is free.