Over the weekend of 2/3 May, Susan Cesarini tutored six intrepid KAS members in portraiture using oils.  A big vote of thanks to Heather Netherclift, who volunteered to sit for us at the 11th hour. It was much appreciated, Heather – it wasn’t an easy task to sit for such an extended period! Susan advised that we were not looking for a masterpiece to take home; we were looking for ideas, knowledge and skills to take away with us.

Susan was well prepared for the workshop, providing us with notes she had written, colour and tonal charts, some of her own paintings, as well as a “skull” to show anatomy.  After talking about the common proportions and planes of the head, and getting us to draw a face on an egg to get the feel of form, Susan demonstrated by beginning her portrait of Heather.  Susan likes to use large brushes, and we were amazed when she produced a huge brush, which could have passed as a broom, to begin her painting. However, Susan could manipulate this enormous brush to make broad sweeps or the most delicate ones, and it could certainly cover a canvas very quickly.

Next it was our turn to begin painting.  Out came our largest brushes (which seemed minute compared to Susan’s!) and on with some paint.  We mixed dark, mid and light tones as well as shadow tones, and with much squinting and looking, we began by using the dark tones and blocking in shapes.

Throughout the weekend, Susan intermittently worked on her portrait for us to observe.  Her paint brushes were used as if she were sculpting the form, at many different angles and often holding the bristles to produce different brush strokes and form. We also received plenty of supervision and advice on our paintings.  At the end of each day we discussed our paintings – all of which were very different versions of Heather! By the end of day two, we had only had a short time to start putting in our lights – and what a difference this made.  We were able to take photos of Heather to (hopefully) enable us to complete our paintings at home.

Susan wanted us to move freely and boldly and lose our restraint – perhaps make mistakes but learn something new.  I think we all managed to do this. We learned how to layer wonderful, vibrant lights against our darks, and avoid “muddying” our colours to keep the freshness. Thank you, Susan, for an excellent weekend!

-Colleen Behl