Locomotiveportraits

PRELIMS 1-19

26/3/15

11:54

Page 16

16 LOCOMOTIVE PORTRAITS

How to paint a locomotive portrait

I

’m often asked how I produce my paintings and, since it is not rocket science, and, more importantly, not copyright, here we go.

The vast majority of my portraits originate from commissions from individuals or organisations. The first approach from a customer might be by email, phone, letter, or in person at an event. I love this, because I never know what I will be asked to do, and I am often surprised by the variety of things which interest people. I then need to find an image of the subject, and can often find one within my extensive reference library or photographic collection; alternatively a customer might provide photographs (crucial in the case of home-built locos).

The advent of pocket-sized, digital cameras and mobile phones has proved to be a boon. If all else fails, there is always that marvellous resource provided by ‘Mr Google’.

Once the subject has been determined and images sourced, the size of picture, its orientation and the medium it is to be painted in (all of which go to determine the price) and a timescale must be agreed. Most customers leave it to me to choose how the subject is presented. The

most common deadline given is: ‘whenever’, although a picture is sometimes needed in a hurry. For example, one gentleman approached me at the NEC in November 2013 and asked if he could have the painting by Christmas. This wasn’t a problem because, even though the loco itself — No. 5053 Earl Cairns — no longer exists, it was a Great Western Castle class, of which there are plenty of images available. I based the picture on a photograph of a sister locomotive, which I had taken at Tyseley.

My locomotive portraits are all created with gouache (poster paint), which can be worked even if it has dried. This is particularly useful at exhibitions, when I often break off to talk to people. Although I am quite happy to work with a variety of media, such as pencils, crayons and oil paints, I can’t get along with acrylics.

They cannot be worked once they have dried (and, being water based, they dry pretty quickly). Some artists use them successfully, but to me it’s like painting with emulsion.

Here is the sequence of steps I use to create a locomotive portrait, using Earl Cairns as an example.

PRELIMS 1-19

26/3/15

11:54

Page 17

17

Image 1: Once the orientation of the subject is decided, I start with a few straight lines. This depends on the original image size and the finished size of the painting. In the case of Earl Cairns I began with the side footplate, the front buffer beam, the cab rear and the tender. I then added the basic outline of the wheels.

People usually say that these are the most difficult part to do, but I always repeat what I was told: everything has perspective, even circles. If you try to imagine the wheels as being square, and then see that square in perspective, all you have to do is join up the mid points of the square with arcs to create an ellipse. However, this is not true ellipse, as any engineer will tell you, and anyone who uses one of those stencils we used to have at school will be disappointed.

Image 3: After having added as much detail as I need, I arrive at the finished drawing and painting can begin. I seem to add more detail than is strictly necessary. I think it’s just a habit picked up from painting at exhibitions. You’d be surprised how many people will ask: ‘Did you draw it out as well?’ That which is left off can be added with a paintbrush later.

Image 2: Next comes the smokebox. This is also in perspective, but usually at ninety degrees to the other lines. Things like the chimney and other boiler fittings are also added at this point. This helps to get the perspective of the boiler (mind you, taper boilers are difficult to get right, since they tend to contradict the perspective). Then it’s just a matter of adding all the other details in proportion to what I’ve already done. There are usually plenty of reference points to use for this.

PRELIMS 1-19

26/3/15

11:54

Page 18

18 LOCOMOTIVE PORTRAITS

Image 4: Here I have added a couple of quick washes, one very light green and one grey, to ‘prime’ the paper. Some artists will soak the whole sheet and stretch it onto a board but, since there is no background, there is really no need.

Image 5: When adding the paint, I usually start with something recognisable, particularly if I am painting while at an exhibition. In this case, it is the smokebox and chimney, which people regard as the ‘face’ of a locomotive. Again there is no hard and fast rule about whether to start at the top or the bottom, although I find if I paint the running gear first it will smudge if any stray water gets near it. On the other hand, the pencil outline can also get a bit messy when you rest your hand on it. The image shows the front of the smokebox finished.

Image 6: I have added some colour to the front buffer beam, and the shading to the running gear.

Image 7: The front end and the wheels and chassis of both loco and tender are finished. At this stage it is important to show where the light is coming from, and where to apply any highlights to the wheels and motion.

PRELIMS 1-19

26/3/15

11:54

Page 19

19

Image 8: I have added a couple of quick shades for the body colour, remembering that the top of a curved surface often reflects the colour of whatever is above it – in this case, the sky. If you ever studied O Level physics (and that dates me!) you will remember that light is made up of the colours of the spectrum, and each colour has a different wavelength. This means that some colours will reflect others, and green is a good example here. A red object placed next to it will still appear red. However some colours absorb others; for example, a blue object reflected in a red engine will just be another shade of red. At this stage a picture can start to look a bit of a mess.

It is surprising, though, how quickly it comes together again as you add detail.

Image 9: Finally, I may have to blend in some of the harsher demarcations, but that is the beauty of working with a watersoluble paint like gouache: the ability to go back and work with them even after they have dried. Last of all, I add small details such as lining, crests, nameplates and numbers, and the picture is finished.

For anyone who is tempted to ‘have a go’, there are several easy ways to get the basic outline. It is the initial drawing that tends to put people off, but you can simply trace it, or project a picture onto a piece of paper, perhaps with a digital projector. I have even seen people use bleached-out photographs as a basis. Lest you think this is ‘cheating’, a friend of my father, a very accomplished artist, made a point of projecting colour slides onto paper fixed to a wall, and he produced

some stunningly detailed townscapes.

Another method, one which I have used for larger watercolours or oil paintings, is to draw a grid of squares onto a photograph of the subject, and then copy each square of the grid, but on a larger scale, onto the canvas. Whatever your chosen method, I recommend that you start with something simple, such as a diesel or a small tank engine. You can always choose more complicated subjects later.