Sketching the Masters
Artists & Illustrators|April 2020
Making a quick oil sketch of an Old Master painting not only helps you understand techniques, but also teaches you a lot about yourself, as SARA LEE ROBERTS explains
SARA LEE ROBERTS
Sketching the Masters
When making quick oil sketches “after” the Masters, it is important to understand that the purpose is not to make a perfect copy. This article will not show you how to make copies using the same techniques as the Masters. This is a deliberate decision – by using modern oil colours and not using the complex layering technique used by many of the Masters, it is impossible to make a copy that would be indistinguishable from the original.

I am not even going to give you a list of suggested colours or types of brushes. This is because I want you, at all times, to take the suggestions as an approach rather than as a manual.

I assume that you have worked with oil paint and have your own preferred brushes. Obviously, it is sensible to have a range of colours to work with: some reds, blues, yellows, whites, browns and blacks. The approach to making quick oil sketches is similar to that of making thumbnail sketches. You start off looking first at the underlying form of the composition rather than at the details.

When looking through the images that are available to me, I have chosen paintings that suit my needs, looking for subjects and/or compositions that will be beneficial to me in my journey as an artist. Sometimes I have chosen to work from a portrait as I am interested in making contemporary portraits and learning from those made in the past seems to me to be a good idea.

At other times I have chosen to work from subjects that I know will challenge me, as it is only through overcoming obstacles and challenges that we can develop as artists.

Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORSSe alt
Still life IN 3 HOURS
Artists & Illustrators

Still life IN 3 HOURS

Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2022
Movement in composition
Artists & Illustrators

Movement in composition

Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2022
Shane Berkery
Artists & Illustrators

Shane Berkery

The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
The Working Artist
Artists & Illustrators

The Working Artist

Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2022
Washes AND GLAZES
Artists & Illustrators

Washes AND GLAZES

Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
Hands
Artists & Illustrators

Hands

LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
Vincent van Gogh
Artists & Illustrators

Vincent van Gogh

To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2022
BRING THE drama
Artists & Illustrators

BRING THE drama

Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
Serena Rowe
Artists & Illustrators

Serena Rowe

The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2022
Bill Jacklin
Artists & Illustrators

Bill Jacklin

Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2022