The Portrait Process: St. Francis de Sales (Article)

The Portrait Process: St. Francis de Sales

Dear friends,

Last week I shared my recent portrait of St. Francis de Sales, a great French saint of the 16th and 17th centuries. This was an exciting project for me and a significant leap in my training, as I set out to paint it entirely from life using a live model, a mannequin, and props. As I take you though my process for completing this painting, I will reveal to what extent I achieved my goal and how I managed to do so.

Having utilized photographic references in my previous commissions, I chose to work from life on St. Francis de Sales because I wanted to push myself as a painter, and because I wanted this picture to have the sense of atmosphere that can only be achieved when working from life. The biggest hurdle to overcome, however, was to find a model. As far as modelling is concerned, a painter's options are to solicit the pro bono modelling services of his friends, or to pay a model. Now, given that a still life painting takes me typically 40-60 hours (when the objects don't move, mind you), hiring a model for this portrait was not financially feasible. At the same time, I did not want to impose upon a friend to give up 40-60 hours of his time for me. To solve the problem, I borrowed a common practice from the old Renaissance masters and set up a wooden mannequin that we had laying around in the studio to act as my model. This mannequin could ‘stand in’ for a model so that I could spend as much time as I needed painting the costume and background. Then, I could call in one of my buddies to model the head and hands.

Now, this was an old mannequin that my teacher had inherited from his teacher and which was manufactured in Germany in the early 20th century. The craftsmanship and the articulation of the joints were truly impressive! However, it had no musculature, so I purchased a flesh-colored morph suit and stuffed it with fiber-fill material used in dolls to give it some muscularity. At this point it felt very plausible as a human form, to the extent that if you saw it in the corner of your eye as you walked by, it would startle you! (believe me). As I was exploring the feasibility of using this mannequin and experimenting with different poses, I was also fashioning a costume based on sketches and color studies I had done at the outset of the project. Once I knew in which direction I wanted to take the composition, I purchased an alb and a pectoral cross, and I even created a cape with fabric and ribbon. You can see my initial setup here:

Also, as I was planning and creating this painting, I wanted to do so prayerfully and in a way that would honor the great saint. I read many of his letters, and he quickly became a spiritual guide of mine for his wisdom, gentleness, and trust in the Lord. I include a couple of edifying quotes from him at the end.

I started painting as I typically do, by laying in color spots and relating them to one another, and then by articulating the major effects. I worked relationally as I filled the canvas, comparing everything I saw to something else in order to construct the same relational truths in paint as they appeared in nature. In the spirit of the impressionists, I sought to replicate the visual impression in front of my, as truthfully as possible.

At a certain point it became clear to me that I needed something that could model the head temporarily so that I could compare its size with other sizes in the portrait, such as that of the chest-mass. I blew up a balloon and colored it with acrylic paint to make it resemble a skin color. Then I stuck the balloon on top of the mannequin and continued painting. Unorthodox, indeed, but it turned out to be quite helpful in allowing me to get all of the sizes right and to finish painting the costume. It also led to many jokes in the studio, including one about St. Francis de Sales being an airhead. I hope he appreciates a good joke ... St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.

Once I felt confident about the costume, I asked one of my studio-mates to pose the head and the hands for me. He agreed to stand for me for 10 hours, which we broke up into 5 2-hour sessions. In this way the mannequin immensely reduced the amount of time someone would have to pose for me. While working I thought about certain stories about John Singer Sargent and how he entertained his sitters during a painting. I tried to make the experience fun for both my studio-mate and myself, and we had good conversations about artists, St. Francis de Sales, and love languages. However, as a painter, I found it difficult to talk and to paint simultaneously! As we approached the final session, I was falling a little behind, so I decided to take a picture of the hands in case I needed to work a little bit more once our time was up. So, I made the painting about 95% from life and then used photos at the very end to wrap it up. But, overall, it was an excellent learning experience, and I am very pleased with how it turned out!

I hope you enjoyed this in-depth look into my portrait process. Thank you so much for reading, and please enjoy a few bits of wisdom from St. Francis de Sales' letters:

“We pass over the thing we are seeking a hundred times when we seek it too eagerly.”

“Christ holds the gift of prayer, ready to bestow it on you so soon as you are emptied of self; that is to say, the love of your own flesh and your own will. As soon as you are really humble, He will fill your heart with that gift. Be content to advance patiently by slow degrees, till the time when He gives you feet to run, or rather wings to fly. Accept willingly yet awhile your position as a mere embryo. You will soon be full grown. Cast yourself in loving abasement before God and men ; — He speaks chiefly to humble ears. ‘‘ Hearken, O daughter,” He says, “ and consider, incline thine ear, forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” Even the Only Beloved Son fell on His Face as He prayed to the Father. God will fill your vessel with precious balm, if He sees that it no longer contains this world’s perfumes."

"Let your example and your words quietly sow the seeds of all that is good, and that can further your object among those you love; and without appearing to teach or dictate, strive here and there to make a good impression upon their minds. By this means you will gain more than in any other way, above all, with the help of prayer.”