Sophie Ploeg
Bristol
I am an artist specialised in portraiture and still life with lace and other fabrics. * * To see available works only, please choose from the menu at the top.
MessageSALE price: £750
Framed in heavy, hand finished frame (incl. in price). Price excluding delivery/shipping. Please ask about shipping. Can be taken off stretchers and rolled up for affordable shipping, but please organise re-stretching and framing asap after delivery. Collection possible.
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HOW TO PAINT A PORTRAIT OF BESS
For my exhibition at the Harley Gallery in November I am drawing inspiration from the Portland Collection and its 16th and 17th century portraits. There are many, many portraits in the collection, including some wonderful ones of Arbella Stuart and Bess herself.
As the mother of the dynasty and all-round fabulous woman who fought for her rights and that of her family, who would not stay quiet in the face of a patriarchal world, I wanted to paint her.
But how could I? I have found three contemporary portraits of her. One portrait is of her as a young girl, painted in the middle of the 16th century. Two later portraits show her as a middle aged widow, grand and rich. But the stylised imagery of Tudor England would not provide us with a portrait of how she really looked. In the 21st century we are so used to recognizing people by their faces but in Tudor portraits many of the recognizable features would have been found in their clothes, jewellery and family coat of arms. ‘You are what you wear’ rings so true in those early days. So I decided to paint Bess by her clothes.
Black Velvet and Pearls
Four metres of black velvet and strings of pearls should give me all I need. I spent a day draping the heavy velvet on a mannequin until I found the right look; nothing authentic in cut but vaguely Tudor in feel. I imagined her face, having seen her portraits at Hardwick, as friendly but firm but decided not to develop the face into high realism. I did not use a model as I wanted to avoid the ‘dressing up’ effect and focus on the power of the black velvet being able to tell the story on its own. She is the matriarch. The friendly but firm Mother of all.
In the latest stages I decided to give her an extra strand of pearls and I have worked her face and hand a little more. The highlights on the black velvet are worked with silver paint which gives a special shine. You’ll have to go and see the real thing in order to appreciate that bit! The painting is 40×32” / 101.5x81cm and oil on linen.
- Collections: Harley Gallery, Lace & Drapery, Portraits, Sale