Events - The Royal Society of Portrait Painters

Date	Event
Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - Thursday, June 9, 2022	Portrait Painting demonstration

Royal Society of Portrait Painters

4 days ago

Sam Dalby RP wrote this about his portrait of Justin Eckersley: 'I met Justin when he was working at the local building suppliers; he mixed my paint when I was painting and decorating for a living. He was chatty and funny, as well as being the most helpful member of staff in the place. He was a fount of all technical knowledge, and was happy to be honest about the products, even if it cost them a sale. He was well connected to the entire community. It didn't take long for us to become firm friends. After getting to know him better, I discovered he was, among other things: a former locksmith and safe cracker; a motorbiker (who had written off no less than four of his bikes); a mountain biker; and a fell runner. We had the love of fell running in common, and he joined the small group that I was racing with.The portrait came about when I was teaching a student. The time came for the lessons to progress to painting a real sitter, and it seemed like a good idea for Justin to sit for us. All I had to pay him with was tea & biscuits, and a steady diet of classic rock music. I started out with a preliminary sketch of his face, but my student was a slow worker, so while I waited for her to finish her drawing, mine expanded to take in the torso, the arms, and then the legs. The final sketch was a large Heath Robinson affair, drawn onto sheets of paper that could be disassembled, moved around and re-attached when the proportion and perspective was how I wanted it. Justin is possessed of a keen mechanical mind, so he was interested in the construction methods I was employing, and wanted to understand as much about them as possible. He was also a fan of the fireplace, and admired how the panels had been cast separately, the front of the borders milled flat so that they could be inserted from the rear of the surround.So whatever this portrait means to anybody else, for me this portrait is the record of our friendship, and a reminder of the mercurial shift of time. It's also the nearest I got to smuggling the lovely cast iron fire surround out of that flat.' ... See MoreSee Less

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