Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Prince Charles's New Portrait In Edinburgh's Portrait Gallery inspires you to draw and photograph family and friends

Problems
For royal watchers, what's new? For those of us more interested in photographing our own families, what can we learn?

Answers
PRINCE CHARLES
A new portrait of Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, was unveiled on Tuesday July 24th 2018 in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. That's just in time for the summer season of events, such as the Edinburgh Festival and the Tattoo (marching bands and horseback riders in formation from the army and others).


Victoria Crowe OBE FRSE RSA (b. 1945)
H.R.H. The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, 2018
Oil on linen, 92 x 122 cm.
Collection: National Galleries of Scotland
Commissioned with the support of benefactors of the National Galleries of Scotland
© Principal Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales.

Image usage must be accompanied with:
This image is reproduced with the kind permission of HRH the Prince of Wales.


ARTIST VICTORIA
The painter of the portrait is a renowned artist, Victoria Crowe (OBE FRSA born 1945), who was commissioned. Yes, her name is Victoria, like Charles's ancestor, Queen Victoria.

She painted him in Scotland, at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The artist and the sitter are of similar ages. Both are around 70 years of age.

Although Charles was affable, she did not have unlimited time to paint, so could not do loads of sketches and had to make a quick decision about what foreground or background would sum up one, or the main, aspect of his character.

THE SITTER
If you look around the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and other galleries at portraits or royalty and VIPs, often they chose formal portraits, standing up, asserting their authority and status. Charles is sitting down. maybe that's why people who sit for artists (and babysitters) are called sitters.

THE BACKGROUND
The artist chose a background of nature because of Charles's keen-ness on the environment.

When you are choosing a background or foreground for somebody, it's good to choose what you think is their main interest. If you are showing somebody at work, that's obvious. In a restaurant or hotel, you can show the waiting staff with a sign giving the name of the restaurant. In a factory, you can show them operating the machinery. Sometimes people who are shy about being photographed are quite happy when you tell them that what interests you is the machinery or the product which they are holding.

WORK OR LEISURE?
Others hate their job - or are secretly planning to leave the company! Instead, they may want a picture showing their hobby.

You could show both. I did a caricature of Jonny who works in a local garage. I showed him with his work tools, then added a sign from his favourite football team.

EXHIBITIONS YOU CAN SEE
To go back to the portrait of Prince Charles, the inspiration for these thoughts on how you take photos or do drawings on holiday, if you want to see the new portrait of Prince Charles, it's at the National Gallery of Art in Scotland.

An exhibition of works by the artist, Victoria Crowe, is on at the gallery until November 18 2018. It is the highlight of the Edinburgh Art Festival which is only on for about a month, until August 26th 2018, so hurry along if you want to see it.

OTHER PORTRAITS
Like other galleries, the Portrait Gallery makes charges for exhibitions, although entry to the main gallery is free.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS & BURNS
See the frieze in the Great Hall showing Prince Charles, Mary Queen of Scots, Robbie Burns (who wrote Old Lang Syne and my love is like a red, red rose) and many more famous characters from Scottish history.


While there, touring the galleries, you can look at the portrait of Mary Queen of Scots. It was painted posthumously. No trouble getting her to sit still.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Queen Street
Edinburgh
Scotland EH2 1JD
Open daily 10 am to 5 pm.

USEFUL WEBSITES
TRAVEL
visitbritain.com (Information)
visitbritainshop.com (To book and buy tickets and excursions)
visitscotland.com
https://www.npg.org.uk (National Portrait Gallery, London.)

ART
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-portrait-gallery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Arts

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Read my posts for information which is enlightening, entertaining and prevents problems. Please share links to your favourite photos

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