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John Singer Sargent

by on April 14, 2012 in Favourite Artists, Portraits

Alan Reed's Charcoal Studies after John Singer Sargent

Charcoal Studies after John Singer Sargent

The American artist John Singer Sargent died this day in 1925. As well as being an outstanding artist, he was a gifted musician and fluent in French, Italian and German. I’ve been a great admirer of his work for many years and I often spend time deeply engrossed studying the many fine books written about this accomplished artist. For those wishing to find out more about Mr Sargent then I can recommend the fine volumes of work documenting his work written by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray. There are three comprehensive volumes on his portraits alone plus several on his figures and landscapes. Check out Amazon for further information.

The image above is a double page taken from my current moleskine sketchbook and  shows charcoal studies I’ve made of two of John Singer Sargent’s charcoal drawings. The original of Viscountess Astor can be seen in the National Portrait Gallery, London and was drawn in 1923. Mrs John Beals Mills was drawn in 1919 and can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As he grew older, Sargent tired of doing the formal portraits in oils that he was so well known for. At the height of his career he could command around 1000 guineas for a full length portrait which is about £100,000 in today’s money. A portrait in charcoal which he referred to as mugs would normally be drawn in one sitting. These would cost his client about £50 which is around £5000 today.

Sargent would often make his own studies of the great masters as he developed his skills, a practise which I adopted early on in my career. Over 30 years on, I’m still learning as I’m studying the work of outstanding painters. You can see other studies I’ve made of Sargent’s paintings on my website. Sargent died 87 years ago on the 14th April but his influence on art remains undiminished.

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Spanish Gypsy Dancer by John Singer Sargent

by on March 13, 2012 in Favourite Artists

Spanish Gypsy Dancer by John Singer Sargent

Alan Reed's copy of Spanish Gypsy Dancer by John Singer Sargent

Last week I was hand delivering an original painting in Glasgow. I decided to check out a couple of paintings by John Singer Sargent which are part of the Glasgow Museum‘s collection, Mrs George Batten singing and Sir David Richmond. Both are outstanding portraits, very much typical of Sargent’s repetoire. Seeing them close up gave me a deeper appreciation of his expressive brush strokes and masterful use of a limited palatte. I hope to feature these paintings in a future blog post about Sargent’s work but for now I’ve decided to feature a recent oil painting study I made of John Singer Sargent’s Spanish Gypsy Dancer.

There are two know versions of this sketch by Sargent, both of which can be seen in the magnificent book “John Singer Sargent, Figures and Landscapes 1874-1882″ by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray. I decided to make an observational oil painting study of the less finished of the two paintings, both of which were approximately 18″ x 11″. I painted mine slightly smaller, oil on board, using a similar limited palette to Sargent and the same observational methods. Sargent himself was known to have made his own copies of several of the great masters including Velazquez and Frans Hals. It’s a very helpful way to help discover the painting techniques that some of the finest painters have used which one can then adapt on one’s own pieces. Very little has been written about Sargent’s painting methods, however by looking closely at his brush marks and reading some of the sitting accounts written by his clients, one can get a good idea of how he worked. I will elaborate on this when I have more of my own examples to explain more clearly.

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Gassed by John Singer Sargent

by on February 25, 2012 in Favourite Artists

Gassed by John Singer Sargent

Gassed by John Singer Sargent

Last night I watched the opening episode of Melvyn Bragg’s documentary on Class and Culture which examined the years from the coronation of George V to the end of the second world war. It examined how the various classes differed and interacted with each other, in particular at the front lines during the first world war. The program held my attention because it kept showing paintings by one of my favourite artists of all time, the American John Singer Sargent including this one titled “Gassed”.

In 1918 the British Ministry of Information commissioned Sargent to paint a large scale piece to a planned hall of remembrance commemorating Anglo-American cooperation.Sargent travelled to the front in 1918 and witnessed first hand the harrowing effects of war including the aftermath of mustard gas attacks. This became the subject of this 6 meter long masterpiece which depicts a procession of wounded, blindfolded men, stumbling towards a dressing station.

Although Sargent is better known for his beautifully executed portraits of high society figures, “Gassed” has to be one of his finest. It’s handled with typical skill, flair and sensitivity. I’m looking forward to seeing it on my next visit to London where it hangs in the Imperial War Museum. You can see several of my own studies of Sargent’s work on my website.

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Head of an Arab

by on January 20, 2012 in Favourite Artists, Oil Painting, Portraits

Head of an Arab

Head of an Arab

Head of an Arab is my study of John Singer Sargent’s oil sketch which he would have painted around 1890-91 when he toured Egypt, Greece and Turkey. It was probably painted abroad, however, he may well have painted it from a model when he returned to London. Sargent was commissioned by the Trustees of the Boston Public Library to paint a mural. He was planning a frieze depicting Old Testament prophets, so this painting is relevant to his preparation.

Having worked in the Middle East since 2007, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to Arabs on a number of occasions and I’m quite struck by their distinctive, fine looking features which are fascinating to paint. In copying John Singer Sargent’s oil on canvas, I’ve tried to make the same direct, confident brush marks as Sargent, painting directly from observation, without relying on any tracing techniques. Also, I’ve kept to a very limited palate to ensure that the colours are as close to Sargent’s as possible. Of course, I’ve had to work from a photographic copy rather than the original painting, so there will be obvious differences in colouring.

The value in making such studies of the great masters works can be seen when one looks at Sargent’s own studies of the artists he admired such as Diego Velazquez and Frans Hals. This particular study was made on board and can be seen at my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland.

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John Singer Sargent

by on December 27, 2011 in Top Sketch Book Tips

Sketchbook Studies in Charcoal

Sketchbook Studies in Charcoal

TIP 11. Studying the work of other artists is a great way to improve your artistic skills, however there are a number of different levels of study that one can tackle. I’ve recently purchased several books about the American artist John Singer Sargent which I have studying. My initial approach is to quickly look at the plates and marvel at the imagery. I then go back to the start and read the text which is always a help in understanding the context and social background in which the artist was working.

Finally, with sketchbook and either pencil or stick of charcoal in hand, I start to make observational drawings of some of the images in the book. Although this is no substitute for making ones own studies from life, it is a great way of gaining a much closer insight into some of the working methods of the artist. One can see how tonal values and composition have been realised as well as gaining a deeper appreciation of some of the mark making techniques. One can take this a stage further and copy their paintings too. I’ve done this in the past which you can see on my website.

Instead of being glued to the TV in the winter evenings, why not re-visit some of your own art books and do some drawings of some of the great masters works?

 

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John Singer Sargent

by on November 18, 2011 in Favourite Artists, Latest News

Head of a Capri Girl

Head of a Capri Girl

One of my favourite artists of all time is the American John Singer Sargent. He’s one of the finest portrait painters of all time who trained under Carolus-Duran in Paris. One of the disciplines that Sargent practised to develop his craft was to make careful studies of the old masters whom he admired, including Velazquez and Frans Hals.

As I’ve been working on a number of portrait commissions recently, I have found it helpful to adopt the same discipline, copying several of John Singer Sargent’s oil paintings, which I have found to be a great joy and delight. Studying Sargent’s paintings in this manner has given me a deeper appreciation of his undoubted skills in handling oil paint and his confident draughtsmanship.

My oil painting copy of Sargent’s “Head of a Capri Girl” can be seen at my Studio & Gallery Christmas Exhibition Preview this weekend in Ponteland. It has been painted from observation, directly onto a tinted board with the limited palette which Sargent would have used.

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Grand Canal, Venice

by on June 7, 2011 in Italy Prints and Originals, Limited Edition Prints

The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal, Venice

The view from the Academia Bridge of the Santa Maria della Salute is probably the definitive view of Venice. In 1630 Venice experienced a devastating outbreak of the plague. The Republic of Venice vowed to build a church to be dedicated to Our Lady of Health. A student of Andre Palladio, Baldassare Longhena designed the Santa Maria della Salute in the Baroque style. Inside the church, many of the objects of art bear references to the Black Death.

When one stands on the bridge with sketchbook and brush in hand, one is acutely aware of the great artists like Canaletto, J.M.W. Turner and John Singer Sargent who have gone before and painted the very same scene. At this point, it is tempting to shrink back and not bother as you just know that there will be passers by leaning over your shoulder to offer criticism, but that’s the easy option. Instead, it’s head down and paint!

Over the years I’ve made several sketch book studies from this view point. The watercolour above is a studio production based on those studies and my own reference photographs. I was so pleased with the result that I’ve kept the original which hangs in our living room and have reproduced it as a limited edition print. It has to be one of my favourite paintings of Italy.

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John Singer Sargent

by on April 30, 2011 in Favourite Artists

Cafe on the Riva degli Schiavoni by John Singer Sargent

Cafe on the Riva degli Schiavoni by John Singer Sargent

In May 2007 I spent several days painting in Venice and was fortunate enough to take in a superb exhibition of paintings of Venice by one of my favourite artists John Singer Sargent held at the Museo Correr in St Mark’s Square.

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is said to be the most important of American Impressionists. He was born in Florence (another one of my favourite cities) and spent most of his life in Europe, studying in Paris under Carolus-Duran and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He began his career as a portrait painter producing outstanding portraits of the rich and famous of his day including two American Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

He was a friend of Monet and  began to experiment painting plein air undertaking a number of study trips which included over 10 trips to Venice from 1870 to 1913. The exhibition at The Museo Correr consisted of 54 of these works loaned not only from European and American museums but also private collections. Subjects included famous land marks such as the scene above titled Cafe on the Riva degli Schiavoni, canals viewed from gondola rides, palaces, churches and daily life in Venice.

As I was doing this particular post, I couldn’t resist thumbing through my own “plein air” sketchbook watercolours of Venice and selecting a few in homage to Sargent. May he continue being an inspiration to many.

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