Charles Hawthorne, Painting the Figure Outside

"At the Seaside" by Charles Hawthorne

"My artist friends are surprised at my having the class paint a model out of doors, something which they consider extremely difficult. But I consider it the quickest way to get under your skin the idea of the way to paint everything - the mechanics of putting one spot of color next to another, the fundamental thing.

We paint the model out of doors because it detaches itself from other things and is easily seen, obvious - it is still life one cannot escape. The figure stands up and is seen solemnly and very beautifully against the background; it is not part of the landscape. Just four or five principal things to do - it is an ideal problem. 

Do not put in the features. The right spots of color will tell more about the appearance, the likeness of a person, than features or good drawing. Make it so that I could recognize the subject from the color alone, for color also is a likeness. Remember no amount of good drawing will pull you out if your colors are not true. The spot of color that a model makes against the landscape has much more to do with his character than you imagine. Do that and you have something to work with.

Don't be afraid of flesh, think of it as a note of color. See the greener note in the flesh, the solemnity that flesh has out of doors. Get it out of your mind that you are doing flesh out of doors, you're doing nature out of doors."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Harthorne on Painting" by Charles Hawthorne.)