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PROCESS
Peter’s approach is predominantly traditional and he is a learned pupil and practitioner of the sight-size portrait technique, a method that has been used by many great masters of portraiture, it’s origins dating back to the seventeenth century. An artist well documented for his use of this technique was the Florence Born American portrait artist John Singer Sargent, who studied at the atelier of M. Carolous-Duran, a well renowned and fashionable portrait artist of the time. The sight-size technique requires the artist to stand back from his subject leaving the canvas beside the sitter throughout the process and, in doing so, observing both sitter and work as a whole. The technique encourages a certain economy of working in which less is often more. The intention is to create an overall impression that at a distance brings unity to the whole. Peter likes to meet the sitter & client either in his studio or at the sitter’s home or other convenient location, thus giving the client the opportunity to discuss their ideas and to fully understand the process. The location of the portrait sitting is up to the client though it is usually beneficial to use a familiar environment where they will feel most at ease. For the artist to see the subject in their surroundings can often be advantageous in helping him to best interpret the interests, lives and personality of the sitter. The subject is usually drawn first in chalk or marked out directly onto the canvas with a brush, an average sitting for a head or bust is usually about an hour and a half to two hours, requiring approximately four to five sittings. Although Peter prefers to work solely from life he realizes that sometimes this is not always feasible, in these instances photos are taken as reference in order to reduce the time and inconvenience to the sitter. The time scale for completing a work will vary according to size and composition and will be discussed individually with each client. |
