This month we are thinking about how in portraiture there are often clues to the subjects personality and identity in terms of the setting and what/who else is present.
Historically it has been fashionable at certain times for these to be items with symbolic meanings on many levels. The viewer is then invited to puzzle through clues to something beyond what can be seen with the naked eye - eg an open door, a skull on a table, a mirror, a half-seen manuscript, food, wine.
So we spent some time beginning to ponder ... 'What would we add in to images of ourselves that would help the viewer to understand more about us as people, our interests and concerns and our personalities?'
We used 4 different still life set-ups to practice our observational skills in pastels, pencil and paint.
Studies of flowers, bottles, food hand tools and of a statue of Venus are emerging. Everyone worked very hard - still life demands a high level of attentiveness and energy. The work will continue over the coming weeks as individuals gather items of particular relevance to themselves to explore and to draw.
The group are also looking forward to portrait artist Judith Handford from Winchester returning to inspire us all in early July. ~ Jacqui L
Historically it has been fashionable at certain times for these to be items with symbolic meanings on many levels. The viewer is then invited to puzzle through clues to something beyond what can be seen with the naked eye - eg an open door, a skull on a table, a mirror, a half-seen manuscript, food, wine.
So we spent some time beginning to ponder ... 'What would we add in to images of ourselves that would help the viewer to understand more about us as people, our interests and concerns and our personalities?'
We used 4 different still life set-ups to practice our observational skills in pastels, pencil and paint.
Studies of flowers, bottles, food hand tools and of a statue of Venus are emerging. Everyone worked very hard - still life demands a high level of attentiveness and energy. The work will continue over the coming weeks as individuals gather items of particular relevance to themselves to explore and to draw.
The group are also looking forward to portrait artist Judith Handford from Winchester returning to inspire us all in early July. ~ Jacqui L
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