Ilford Art Society, Goodmayes, 22 October 2025

2 Nov 2025

This was my second of three sittings for portraits with Ilford Art Society. For me, the requirement was exactly as per last week: that is, sit facing the artists for a full hour, then take a fifteen-minute break, before returning to sit for a further forty-five minutes through to the end.

The principal difference between this session and last was that artists were invited to focus on ‘line’ rather than ‘tone’. This related not only to defining edges, but also how the thickness and use of lines can convey depth. Some gave it a fair go whilst others were happy simply to draw nice colourful pictures in whatever way they preferred.

To vary the challenge for myself, I attempted to maintain a smile on my face (the best place for one, I reckon) throughout the entire hour and three-quarters. If you’ve never tried this yourself, let me tell you it’s much trickier than you might imagine. Hopefully I succeeded without it turning (gurning) into a grimace! I think it was appreciated. 🙂