Painting   Will Young

Sky Arts continued Portrait Artist of the Week for another 4 weeks and I couldn’t be more thrilled. This week was singer and actor Will Young.

Initially planned for 4 weeks, I was very pleased to learn that Sky Arts would be continuing Portrait Artist of the Week for another 4 weeks. These painting sessions have been an integral part of my routine throughout lockdown and have really provided me with a wonderful activity to focus on and keep my own mental health in check during these stressful and uncertain times. 

Having a clear artistic goal each week keeps me focused and productive and allows my mind to concentrate on the art which has been a tonic. 

This week the singer and actor Will Young sat and you could tell he had experience with radio. His discussions with 2014 PAOTY winner Christian Hook were so interesting and have inspired me to consider mixing things up next week and trying something new. He mentioned that mistakes are important and we should embrace them.

Will Young. 2020. Oil on canvas

Alastair Faulkner

Having said that, my method this week hasn’t hugely shifted however the overall result is a portrait that looks darker and moodier than previous endeavours. Having seen what I produced in 4 hours it looks so different to my previous portraits and I’m tempted to leave as is… I might work on the background slightly but this is to be decided.

Next week I think I’m going to be bold and use a limited colour palette and consider dropping the drawing stage and be bold with both colour and paint application. It could go horrible wrong! 

Until next week