John Singer Sargent Study

I began this Sargent study to show my 13-year daughter, whom I call “Super”, how to paint with oils.  I had been to the London Portrait Gallery last year and had a friend take pictures of this and other Sargent paintings for me, for which I was delighted to have for my files.

 

Most of us know how Sargent began his works, and my demo followed this procedure.  To me, it’s the soundest method to paint any object, whether it be fruit, plant, or human head.  It requires knowledge to do this, since there’s no carefully drawn out safety-net method to fall back on.  You must mass colors, shades, and shapes into their right positions within the overall form, until they resemble the person you’re painting.  You really have to know your draftsmanship.