BEN LAUGHTON SMITH
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Portraits for NHS Heroes

22/4/2020

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PictureJohn Radcliffe, also lacking PPE (by Sir Godfrey Kneller)
There's a little gag doing the rounds on social media among artists that shows what an artist looks like before Covid-19 struck, another during lockdown and finally one after it's all over. As you can guess the picture accompanying it (an artist at their easel) is identical in each case.

For those working in the NHS their working lives couldn't be more different. Putting their own health and wellbeing aside, doctors, nurses and other professionals have given us all a big lesson in dedication and compassion and truly are the heroes of the hour.

With this in mind, artist Tom Croft has launched a brilliant initiative via Instagram called #portraitsfornhsheroes - which I signed up to as soon as it launched. My first portrait will be of a doctor and surgical trainee working at John Radcliffe Hospital and Stoke Mandeville. As is the case with great numbers of those working in the NHS, she has been diverted away from her usual role by the virus and is working in new surroundings to help cope with the crisis. I'm really excited to get started and take my hat off to Tom for this fantastic idea - a great way to show our appreciation for our NHS heroes and everything they do for us. If you would like to offer a portrait to an NHS key worker, follow the link to his Instagram above, which gives instructions on what to do, and paint a hero!

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A guaranteed way to improve your drawing

15/4/2020

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The "Cours de Dessin" was a 19th Century drawing manual used widely in the European academies (including by Picasso and Van Gogh - who copied all of the plates, twice!) In this video I explain how to go about copying from this fantastic resource to dramatically improve your drawing skills. 

The book takes students through a series of exercises from simple to highly complex and is a really effective tool that you can easily use in your own home. Work slowly and make corrections wherever you see they are needed - the idea is that your drawing should be almost indistinguishable from the original. Push yourself and you'll be surprised how much you learn. You can find printable images from the book here (and in various other places, just look on Google).
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Making best use of lock-downtime

1/4/2020

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There is at least one positive to come from the current lockdown conditions - it's the perfect opportunity to develop your drawing skills. This video, which I produced in association with Raw Umber Studios shows you how you can practice your skills using exercises that form the core of many atelier-style schools throughout the world using simple readily available materials.

Keep an eye on Raw Umber's YouTube channel for further tutorials and videos.
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    Ben Laughton Smith

    Contemporary works of art in the classical tradition.

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