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Inspiration from Artists Week 19 Bonus Artist :Hero Johnson.

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Paul (Dixie) Dean

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Welcome to this week 19 bonus artist Hero Johnson. Hero is a portrait artist originally from Cornwall now living and working in London. It was requested that we look at some portrait artist for a change in the main thread , as it will be a week or so before seeing them feature I thought a bonus artist would fill the gap.  I hope you enjoy her work and the few I have selected . 

Denise Cat

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She has done some wonderful portraits. Some, I had to look twice they looked like photographs. I enjoyed looking through her work. Holden and Rhona

Jenny Harris

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I do like this self portrait which is in a looser style.  In some of her other work the almost photographic detail of the face sometimes looks a little incongruous with the slightly looser approach to the rest of the painting. 

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by Jenny Harris

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Gillian Cooke

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What a talented portraitist! I see what you mean about  the loose style illustrated in the self portrait you have included Jenny. I came across some lovely pastel portraits which I particularly liked. 
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Hmm.  Now then - dare I say this?  I do not like this artist's more photographic work, and the reason for that is one in which I have, for once, some confidence.   The looser work, I'm fine with.   But what on earth is the point of producing paintings that look like photographs?  Why not just take a photograph and have done with it?  Much less work, and equally satisfactory results - if you like photographic portraits; which, on the whole, I don't - because they too have to be expertly done and very few are.  I find the last portrait, in particular, just horribly dull - and some of the rest look as if they've been done from photographs rather than from a sitter: how otherwise would you persuade the old gentleman reading a children's book to maintain his posture throughout a sitting?  The poor old chap would have collapsed with muscle paralysis  - I would be more kind if I liked the work, but there it is, I don't.  
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Paul (Dixie) Dean

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I take it you don’t like her work very much Robert . I did think when I posted her work that it would certainly not be to a lot of peoples taste.  Choosing her was quite random as were my choice of her paintings , there are several that I like simply because I like them nothing to do with technique etc. There is a bit of a devil in me that quite likes it when a artist isn’t always approved of as it certainly enlivens the discussions. There is a benefit to it as well, the reason are enlightening and do help to look at the work in a different way , it would be awful if we were all saying ooooh how wonderful at all of the artwork posted,  thank goodness we don’t. 

Tessa Gwynne

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She is certainly a very proficient portrait painter and I quite like her self portraits which are a little looser. Unlike Michael I actually like the Michael Bond portraits, also that of Harriet Walter perhaps partly because it’s not full face on.

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Russell Edwards

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I quite like her work Paul but I don't really think they're photographic. As for using sitters I wonder how many artists still do. I've watched every series of 'portrait artist of the year' and every 'winner' has used photographs to work from for their final painting. Yes they've had time with the celebrity sitters and produced a few sketches along the way which they say they'll work from but do they? Really? In fact the quality of some of these reference sketches are so poor you wouldn't be able to glean anything from them in order to produce a portrait of any merit. The artists from 'Extraordinary Portraits' also appear to rely on photographs for their finished pieces. If you wish to draw or paint portraits with a degree of 'realism" then working from photographs is essential  I feel unless you can afford to employ your own Muse.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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This artist is not an amateur, but a professional and needs to be judged as such.  Professional artists don't work from photographs alone - a big generalization of course, because in fact some do - but no professional would choose to.  To produce a painting from a photograph is fairly pointless - you still have the photograph; that's a statement in itself; you're not saying anything new by just copying it - you're not even creating anything if a photograph has done most of the compositional work for you - most obviously if it wasn't even your own photograph.   Many portraitists supplement their sketches, which would normally be numerous, with camera work - these go to make up the whole: the problem arises when you paint a portrait that could not have been sat for and is reduced to just replicating the photo in paint - it's not so much the use of the camera that's a problem, far more that it LOOKS like a copied photo.   Of course, this sort of criticism can be taken to absurd levels very easily and very quickly - but a photographic likeness is not the same thing as a copied photo.   Hero Jonson's work is certainly very accomplished - see the old man's hands, and the last portrait shown - but "it looks just like a photo" is not high praise in my book, but a criticism of rather unexciting technique: some of these paintings are flat - however good they may be as likenesses, they don't impress me as painting: they are not vibrant, or some of them aren't, they're just dull and over-blended.   But of course - I'm not seeing them in the flesh, only on a screen, and I should be the first to admit that this can make a huge difference.  
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Russell Edwards

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The subject of using photographs as reference or 'simply copying' them has raised strong views for and against many times on this forum and will always divide opinion. With regards to the two programmes I've mentioned, the majority of artists are professional and in my opinion their photographs had more bearing on the finished work than any of their preliminary sketches, many of which appeared to have scant information that could be of any use whatsoever. 

Christine Rogan

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As with any artist’s portfolio of work, there are some of Hero’s paintings that I like and other’s I’m not so enamoured with. I have to agree with others that her looser work appeals more to my taste, rather than her very photo realistic ones. I do like the painting of Michael Bond. The topic of using photos comes up again, and as someone who likes to do portraits,I use photos as I don’t have the luxury of having “sitters”, (especially when trying to capture young children!) It seems this mainly comes up when discussing portraits and yet many artists appear to use photographs for landscapes, seascapes, flowers etc. My love any painting/drawing is purely personal to me -whether developed from imagination, a photo or plein air. 
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Linda Wilson

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I agree with you Russell,  I have been shocked by competing artists lack of life drawing skills, but by using photographs some have raised their game to a new level.  The painting of a violinist against a stained glass window comes to mind.  Photographs can be manipulated into yet another art form and the art and skill in arranging the composition of a photo is much the same as arranging the composition of a painting.  So I am all for combining art forms.  The skill of hyper realistic paintings is also to be admired.  I am happy to enjoy realistic photos as well as paintings and drawings.
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