Please introduce yourself. What ignited your passion for art?

I grew up in a creative family where I was encouraged to draw, make or paint from a young age. My grandmother was a watercolourist and I remember her always reading quotes from artists or talking about exhibitions that she had been to in London where she lived, which my mother would then take me to. I started to take art more seriously at school when I was going my GCSE’S and A-Levels. My art teacher was very inspiring and I absolutely loved the art department and would be there whenever I could. Thinking about the work I was doing then, I was always painting portraits. Faces and people have always excited me more than anything else. After school I went to art university in the UK and moved away from representational figurative work for a few years. Not because I wanted to, but because the tutors and other students seemed only to be interested in conceptual work and installations, performance art and video. So for a few years this was what I did. The facilities were great and I explored lots of materials and ideas, but which in the end always came back to the body and humanity.

After completing a BA in Fine Art at Leeds University, you decided to go to Charles H Cecil Studios in Florence to develop your skills further. How has your work developed since studying in Florence?

Moving to Florence to train with Charles Cecil was the best decision I ever made. I finally connected with what I was creating and spent four years training under him and his instructors. I am very happy to now be an instructor there and I return periodically throughout the year to teach but also to continue to learn from him and hone my skills in painting sight-size from life, to the scale of life under natural light. When I am in London I work on portrait commissions in my studio. They are great fun but enormously challenging. I try to always have a project of my own on the go where I have total freedom to explore different compositions, dress and colour.

Your painting style is reflective of 17th century artwork, what do you love about this era? How have classical artists such as Titian and Van Dyck inspired you?

They were just unbelievably clever, and it is so hard to paint anywhere near their level. The Thursday evening art history lectures by Charles Cecil in Florence would inspire me a great deal. Each week he would explore and compare the work of many great 17th century painters and those who came before and after them. I find myself always returning to the work of Van Dyck and Velasquez, not a huge surprise since the two studio rooms I trained in were named after them! The handling of the paint, compositions and the way they took what was there in life and transformed it into something even more compelling is incredibly thought provoking. I also look at the work of John Singer Sargent and The British School very frequently. It’s fantastic to have such great museums in London and to be able to visit and study their work face to face whenever possible.

Why do you choose to paint your sitters from life? How does this help you establish a likeness?

Painting from life creates a picture that I think is very hard to create from photographs. They could help but in the way I paint something can easily be lost in between if you rely solely on them. There is a dialogue to painting from life. The marks on the canvas aren’t necessarily going to be in exactly the right place and perhaps some of the shapes will be a bit off, but that’s what makes it honest and alive. The goal is to capture the essence of the person in front of you and painting from life gives you the opportunity to do so. Also knowing the great line of painters who have painted portraits in the exact same way is hugely inspiring.

Who would be your dream sitter to paint, and why? What are the characteristics of an interesting face to paint?

That’s tricky! I really do think that everyone has an interesting face to paint. I spend a lot of time on the first sitting choosing the angle I think either flatters the subject the most or creates some kind of intensity and engagement. It’s surprising how much the angle of the head and body can change the way the subject appears or comes across. There are certain features like a large or refined nose, high cheekbones, expressive eyebrows or a great set of hair that can be particularly fun to paint, but really there’s not been anyone who I’ve sent back out the door! I recently had the chance to paint the wonderful Richard Curtis when I featured on the 10th series of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. It was fun painting someone who has had a very successful, and creative, career and who many know. I guess anyone who has done something extraordinary with their life and who could tell great stories throughout the sessions would be a dream sitter!

What are your thoughts on the famous quote by Oscar Wide, ‘Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter.’

It does somewhat resonate. I like to think of the way I paint as a collaboration between me and the sitter, it takes a lot of effort from both of us. The minimum amount of time the subject will sit for me for a portrait in oil is twelve hours, which for some can be surprisingly challenging! My thought process is that I am painting a portrait of the sitter, but if when the picture is finished the sitter or others also see a portrait of me somewhere within it, then something rather special has happened.

Thinking about your most recent work, what was your creative process? Describe the journey of the piece from start to finish.

The first day is all about picking the pose, outfit and colours and then ‘killing the white’ of the canvas, in other words, getting paint down and basic shapes and values. From then on it’s just a process of correcting the shapes, pushing the values and adding mid-tones and detail. However, I observe the sitter from a distance of about five meters so the goal is to get an overall impression of the subject, a flow of light and never too much detail. I tend to have lots of projects on the go at one time. I think it’s important to have time to reflect on each painting whilst you’re working on something else completely different. That’s also one of the best things about painting portraits, is that they’re all individuals so for me they’re all completely different.

Has there been a pivotal point in your career so far as an artist? What are your future aspirations?

A pivotal point of my career would probably have been getting my own studio and working by myself. I was used to sharing a space with others and working on projects with friends. I found the first few months of working alone very challenging and I missed the camaraderie of a shared studio. However, it really pushed me and forced me to tackle the problems that come with portrait painting from life on my own. I learnt a great deal and began coming up with lots of new ideas for future paintings. I aspire to create portraits that are engaging, energetic and which people can appreciate whether they know the subject or not.

Why do you think art is important in society?

I can’t imagine not painting and I would assume that most creatives feel the same way about what they do. It allows people to express themselves. It can also heal, excite or connect people from all over the world and bring happiness, anger or raise questions and hopefully challenge society.

https://www.emilyroserogers.com/

ARTIST INTERVIEW: Emily Rogers