Painting Portraits in Watercolour

CHAPTER 1

TRANSFERRING YOUR IMAGE

DON'T STRESS ABOUT THE DRAWING

The skills used to draw a likeness and the skills used to paint a lively portrait are different. Both are complex skill sets, but they are not one and the same. Many portrait books start with how to draw the face, perfect proportions, features and so on. This can trip people up and they fall at the first hurdle. By the time they have obtained a likeness on paper, the surface is scuffed with rubbing out and the artist is near despair.

Using a transfer method rather than drawing freehand doesn't have to result in a stilted painting.

There is no getting away from the fact that being able to capture a likeness takes practice. But why don't we turn things on their head? Let's learn the painting skills first. By doing so we will build experience and confidence and become familiar with features and how they relate. Along the way we will train our eyes and brain to see what is going on.

Success breeds motivation. For this reason, I strongly urge you to use one of the transfer methods described here to gain the outlines and proportions you need.

ISN'T THAT CHEATING?

There is often the feeling that if you are not drawing freehand from life, you are somehow cheating, or that any painting produced using drawing aids must be inherently inferior to those produced without them. Some people go so far as to say that you shouldn't even do a preparatory underdrawing, and that painting directly with no pencil guidelines is better than painting with them. Others worry that if they use some sort of tracing or transfer method, their paintings will be devoid of life and character. Banish these thoughts.

The underdrawing for this portrait was done freehand, which does not make it a better or worse painting.

Art historians tell us Vermeer used a camera obscura - does that make the Girl with the Pearl Earring any less wonderful? Joshua Reynolds' camera obscura is in the Science Museum, London. Throughout history artists have used tools at their disposal to help them get their vision onto paper or canvas. Apply the logic described in the previous paragraph to another context and you will see the flaw. If you go somewhere by car is that cheating - shouldn't you walk? Tracing or transferring is just a tool to get you to your destination in an efficient way.

The same face, traced each time can look so different.

You can use all your painting skills to interpret the same outline in different ways.

If a room full of artists were to trace a reference photo, then paint it using the same colour palette and tools, each painting would be different. A portrait often says more about the character of the artist than it does about the personality of the sitter. This is not to say that you should not work on your drawing skills, however, because drawing is far more than simply getting accurate guidelines down on paper.

Fired up with the success of painting lively portraits, you will be far more positive about putting in the work to capture a likeness. At the end of this chapter, I suggest some drawing exercises. Five or ten minutes spent on them daily will start to develop new pathways in your brain and better hand-eye coordination. When you decide you are ready to draw a likeness freehand, you will be in a strong position.

WHICH LINES TO TRANSFER

Aim to transfer as few lines as possible, but enough detail to guide you on the placement of features. You do not want so many that you are tempted to 'colour in'. I would suggest the outline of the face and features, distinct highlights that must be retained and the mass of hair. Smaller details will confuse you. If you transfer too many details, remove them before starting to paint. Keep lines as light as possible. The pencil lines in this book are darker to show clearly in photos. You could use a watercolour pencil if you like and this will dissolve into your washes.

HOW TO TRANSFER YOUR PHOTO

Projecting or tracing your work onto your watercolour paper has the distinct advantage of being rapid and ensures that the surface of the paper is not damaged with rubbings out. Even artists sketching from life often draw on one piece of paper and use a transfer method before painting to avoid damaging their final paper.

Each method has its pros and cons.

Direct Transfer

Print out your chosen reference and turn it face down. Use a soft (for example 2B) pencil. Scribble densely all over the reverse of the image. Now flip over and use a piece of masking tape to affix it to your chosen painting paper. Using a pencil or stylus, press firmly and draw over the lines you wish to transfer. Check that the line is showing sufficiently and adjust your pressure. While you can use a pencil, to avoid obscuring the photo which you still need, use an old ballpoint pen, a glass dip pen (without the ink, obviously) or another blunt but pointed firm implement. When you have transferred enough lines, remove the printed photo.

The downside of this method is that you cannot increase or decrease the size. Also, you need to be able to print your image and you will mark the print in the process. It is, however, the easiest and most direct method.

Tracing

Using tracing paper (or improvising with baking parchment) is also straightforward. It will not damage your reference photo, but you cannot increase or decrease the size of your image. The other downside is that you have to press firmly with a pencil to transfer the image, which can leave grooves in your paper, but the original remains unmarked.

Simply place the tracing paper over the photo, hold it in place so it doesn't slip and mark the lines you require. Remove and flip the tracing paper over. Scribble over the lines with a soft pencil and then place on top of your painting paper. As before, go over the lines using a pencil or stylus and check that you are pressing hard enough to transfer, but not so hard as to groove the paper.

Carbon/Graphite Paper

For an exact size copy of your image, graphite paper is slightly quicker to use than tracing paper. The sheets are reusable. Avoid ordinary carbon paper, as the line can be waxy and resist your paint; graphite paper is a better option. Place it graphite-side down on your painting paper. Place the printed image on top and again go over all the required lines using a pencil or stylus, checking that your pressure is sufficient to transfer a visible line.

Gridding

Gridding not only allows you to increase or decrease the size of your image, it also has the advantage of engaging your drawing muscles more than some of the other methods. It can be rather tedious.

You must first ensure that the dimensions of your paper are in the same proportion as your source photo. Do this by lining up the corner of your photo and your paper, and put a ruler through the diagonal corners. Where it hits the far edge indicates the dimension of your destination paper.

If the reference and drawing surface are not in the same proportion you will distort the image.

Now grid your reference photo. Depending on the size of your photo, you may wish to draw squares of 1cm (?in) - the smaller the boxes the more detailed the transfer. The more accurate you are at this stage, the better the outcome. Free gridding apps are available and are precise and quick to use (see Further Resources for links).

It is important to be as accurate as possible.

Gridding helps tone your drawing muscles as you are still observing and judging.

Accurate gridding of the reference is key, but luckily, free online tools are available.

Systematically transferring each square allows the image to be increased (or decreased) in size.

Next divide your destination paper into the same number of squares. Draw these grid lines lightly so they will be easy to erase or they will show in your final piece. An alternative is to use a watercolour pencil. If you choose a toning colour, the lines will melt away into your washes and not show in the final piece.

Transfer the source image to your destination square by square. If a line runs diagonally through the small square on the photo, place it diagonally through the large square on your paper. When finished, erase the grid.

This can be a slow process but it should be 100 per cent accurate and is ideal if you need to increase the size of your image.

Simplified Gridding

For those who are more confident in their drawing skills but who still need some support, a simplified grid can be useful. Rather than gridding with squares, divide your reference into equal quarters with a horizontal and vertical line, and then draw in diagonals. Do the same with your paper, ensuring that the proportions of reference and final paper are the same. Now use the eight triangles to transfer your image in a similar way to the more complete gridding system.

A simplified grid is speedier and more suitable for those who are already confident in their drawing skills.

Interestingly, a version of this type of grid can be seen in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, showing how Vincent van Gogh used it in his paintings.

Window or Computer Screen

On a bright day you can use a window as an impromptu light box. As long as your watercolour paper is not too thick (300gsm/140lb), you can tape the photo to the back of your paper to avoid movement, then place it on a bright window. You should be...