Jane Bond RP NEAC

I always work from life and make sketches and discuss ideas with my portrait sitters. I also take photographs but only use them for reference or in emergencies! I paint in oils on canvas or board and do drawings in pencil or charcoal. My palette has a wide range of colours. I use Winsor & Newton Artists Oil Colours and for brushes, long handed sables, as large as practical for the job.

The first thing I do when I take a commission is to visit my subject and see their surroundings and where they will hang the painting. I often look for objects to accompany my subjects to tell the story of their lives. I often use richly patterned carpets and textiles behind my models.

An average oil portrait needs at least 10 sittings of two or three hours; a drawing two to three sittings.