Discussing Scale

Just a little one today - at 8x10 inches. Recently I have been thinking quite a lot about scale and I have decided that I will mainly work at a maximum of life size - it just seems to work better for me, rather than the big heads popular at places like the BP portrait award.

Partly this is because that although I do work in (many) layers, what you see (especially skin) is generally done in one go - and that gets difficult beyond a certain size.

The paintings done in the life room are also "one-go" paintings and don't seem to work if any edge is longer than 12 inches. I suspect this will hold true of painting plein air too.

So currently I am investigating supports - how to get good, small surfaces in various proportions - and this seems much harder than you'd think, with most manufacturers producing a very limited range. However, I have found a source of small stretcher bars and am working on stretching and preparing my own small canvases. Boy does oil primer stink!

How To Think Up Titles For Paintings

Titling paintings is a very odd thing. Some have a title before they even start, some develop titles as they are painted where as others just stay "the blue one" while others only graduate to a title once they are painted.

And some still do not have a title then - like this poor painting. It has a name - that of the model (and bonus points to those who know who it is) - but not a title. Which is beginning to become a problem as it soon needs to go to the framers and then on to an exhibition.

So I am opening it up to the floor - any suggestions out there?

Life Drawing In Glasgow

The above clearly is a painting, not a drawing, but was done at Wasps Studios Thursday Life Drawing Group.

It occured to me that I have been to lots of life drawing around Glasgow over the years, and it might be useful to you folks out there if I listed a few of the untutored, drop in groups.

My favourite still has to be the Friday group at Wasp's Hanson St, which runs from 1:30pm till 4:30pm, with a break for tea in the middle. This is the group that really encouraged me and set me on the path of being a professional painter - I cannot thank them enough.

But these days I can't go on Fridays, so have started going on Thursday mornings instead to Pam's group. This also runs in the big room on the right and often has the same models, but tends towards longer poses - perfect for painting. There is also cake and much chat.

All of these groups tend to be around seven pounds - to cover room hire and the cost of the model.

A cheaper option at four quid (but only two hours, not three) is All The Young Nudes at the Flying Duck every Tuesday night from 8pm. Being in a bar, there is booze - always a bit of a plus - but sadly as I normally drive there (there is a car park is just round the corner) I stick to the mugs of tea. There is a much younger, more informal group here - lots of student types - and a very wide range of ability and experience. Much effort is put into the music playlists, which is sadly lost on me as I'm a bit deaf. Oh well.

Another fun option is Dr Sketchy's monthly at the Tron. Must admit I've not been for a while, but they let you take photographs which was brilliant for figuring out stuff in the early stages. Also, the models normally do a bit of a burlesque routine which again tends to be a little lost on me but I can see the appeal.

Sandy is an amazing teacher (who first got me using oils) who runs both tutored and untutored classes in the Botanics - very handy for me - the Sunday afternoon four hour poses are especially useful and I'm glad to see more oil painters coming along to it now!

These are all the ones I have personally attended - please comment if you know any others.