Sidmouth Society of Artists: Charcoal Portrait from Life

Amelia used an overhead lamp to create the shadow form she wanted to best illuminate Doreen’s features.

Once she was happy with this, she set a twenty-minute timer to enable Doreen to take regular breaks from holding her pose.

Amelia began marking out Doreen’s portrait using willow charcoal sticks on smooth neutral paper and using a ruler to distant measure eyebrows, nose, and chin areas.

She then began adding shadows and, whilst blending to soften edges, she darkened shadow areas and blended again with a smaller blending stick.

Following on from this stage, Amelia used a putty rubber for a softer blend and an electric eraser for sharper lines.

Amelia said her electric eraser is probably one of the best tools she has bought, having initially been sceptical after seeing other artists use them.

She now wouldn’t be without one.

As the portrait began to come together, Amelia used a mahl stick to keep her hand/fist from smudging her work.

This also enabled her to have much greater control whilst beginning to add in the details of the features.

Amelia held SSA members in silence whilst watching the portrait of Doreen come to life, explaining the techniques she was using as she went along.

One trick she shared is to use your smartphone as a black mirror to create another way of viewing both the picture and the sitter.

During the final twenty minutes, Amelia changed to charcoal pencils to add finer detail such as the eyes, which suddenly gained the twinkle we all see in Doreen.

Amelia also used her fine eraser to add in the whispers of hair around the portrait.

The portrait was sealed with a fixative once completed.

During the demonstration, Amelia recounted the time when, not long after graduating from the Plymouth School of Art in 2017, she took part in the 2019 Sky Portrait Artist of the Year, which she admitted in retrospect was a bit naïve but would recommend the experience.

How brave was that!

It was a great afternoon watching Amelia create Doreen’s portrait, and Doreen was delighted to receive it as a gift from Amelia as a memento of the afternoon.

For further information regarding our 2025 demonstration programme, please visit our website www.sidmouthsocietyofartists.com.