Portrait Painting - 3. Looking Down

In this series from Aine Divine, the watercolourist has been focusing on painting the head from unusual angles. She continues with a look at a foreshortened face

- Aine Divine

When painting the human head, looking down is one of my favourite angles. It feels to me as if a downturned head often has a pensive, inward-looking quality. It adds poignance and makes for a more satisfying painting as well as a better portrait.

Alisdair assumed this position on the couch, sitting bathed in northern afternoon light. His lifted arm rested on the back of the couch and created a dynamic, diagonal slant from right to left shoulder. As I was standing at the easel and his head was lowered, the downward angle was marked. My curiosity was engaged.

It is important to believe your eyes in these situations and paint what you see – not what you think you see. A clear, single source of natural light is helpful here as it causes us to really see the darker side as a single shape, rather than a combination of shadows. This also provides an easy way into the painting.

What a lovely afternoon I had, painting Alisdair. He’s an old friend by now and I have painted him more times than I can remember. Bearded and barefaced, his is a face as familiar to me as it is inspiring. He also has a gentle alert presence that I have come to love and am always keen to capture.

I hope you find the new angles covered in this series as exciting as I do. Painting them feels like unwrapping chocolates and discovering new and exciting flavours with each one.

Each new painting is an adventure. It is amazing how every time I show up at the blank page, there is a frisson of excitement and a question; will I be able to find this face here and now? There is a nervousness. Today is no different, so I rely on the old faithful half-closed eyes, and try to forget this is a face at all.