portraiture summer assignment

2. Visit to
The National Portrait Gallery
Dame Edith Evans (Dame Edith Mary Booth)
by Henry Glintenkamp
oil on canvas, 1922
32 in. x 26 1/8 in. (813 mm x 662 mm)
David Hockney ('Self-Portrait with
Charlie')
by David Hockney
oil on canvas, 2005
72 in. x 36 in. (1829 mm x 914 mm)
Mike Leigh
by Stuart Pearson Wright
oil on canvas, 2003
28 in. x 19 7/8 in. (710 mm x 506
mm)

3. A study of a portrait painting
Doris Zinkeisen
by Doris Clare Zinkeisen
oil on canvas, exhibited 1929
42 1/4 in. x 34 1/8 in. (1072 mm
x 866 mm)
This was my favourite painting at
the National gallery. It was in the
interwar room between the
contemporary art collection and the
Victorian collection thus making it
easier to compare against the two
styles: modern and archaic . Unlike
the Victorian work this portrait had
a much more relaxed composition
and uses bold colours in the
foreground to stand out and catch
the attention of the viewer, this is
similar to the more contemporary
section of the gallery and so the
painting can be seen as a mark
displaying the progression of art
into the ‘modern’ era. I particularly
like the large pattern on the kimono
and is the first thing noticed when
you look at the painting. it is a clear
symbol of the art deco period it was
painted in.

4. Self portraits
Geoffrey Beasley undertook a BA in fine art at
Ravensbourne college of art and design and went to
study at the Royal Academy Schools and Nottingham
Trent University.
The portrait is of the artists son, who while living with
his parents, was able to pose throughout the creation
of this painting which is made from life. Beasley has
painted both his sons, finding it easier to achieve a
level of intimacy with them than other models.
This painting uses a variety of muted colours,
especially greys to create a sense of calm and
tranquillity. This was one of the main reasons I liked it
as well as the simplicity of it, allowing the viewer to
look closely at the various tones making up the face,
creating shadow and a sense of three dimensionality. I
decided to create my self portraits in this style so that
I could work closely on the tones of the face.
Eddy in the morning by
Geoffrey Beasley
Oil on canvas

5. Project Evaluation
I found this project extremely challenging as I do not often enjoy painting, particularly portraits, or
working on canvas due to a lack of experience. I felt that I would have struggled less had the brief
been to draw using pencil, pen or charcoal. However the project did allow me to develop my painting
skills through observational painting and also by conducting a series of studies. I am most pleased
with the studies as I had to mix colours in order to copy the original, and this has been useful practise
as sometimes I do not mix colours correctly. I took a while developing my self portrait, I found it
extremely difficult to mix the colours that made up the face and all the different tone sit took to make
it appear three dimensional and have depth and so it took me several attempts to paint the faces of
both portraits. If I had to re-do the project I think that perhaps I would have picked the style of
another artist, such as one whose portrait I copied , as I feel that the studies I conducted had more
colour an pattern expressing the style of the artist as well as reflecting on the personality of the sitter.
I think that I still need to improve in my painting to try and find mu own style as I am not able to paint
realistically and so I would like to attempt a more abstract way of creating a portrait using the same
media.