I'm an artist living in West Somerset. Most of what I do is portraits and life-drawing/painting. I always set out to convey the nature of the people I draw, rather than asking them to 'strike a pose'. Whether it's a drawing/painting of just the head and shoulders, or of their whole form, their expressions and posture are always unique to them if allowed to settle naturally into a comfortable position and it's this uniqueness that I want to capture.
I tend to be figurative in my approach but my paintings are sometimes more abstract. I'm a member of Somerset Art Works ( https://somersetartworks.org.uk/artists/happleton/ ) and this year, 2018, I'll be exhibiting in Somerset 'Open Studios' in September.
I've been happily married for 20 years and live with my amazing wife and two of my three wonderful children.
I'm always happy for models to bring a companion with them if it makes them more comfortable. My wife will usually be clattering about somewhere nearby if we're working at my home, and I'm also open to suggestions about working elsewhere if that feels better.
I'm very easy-going and like to keep the atmosphere light and informal. It would be great to find a few models who are happy to work on a fairly regular basis so that there's no sense of awkwardness. It's important to me that the subjects of my paintings feel completely comfortable and at ease, and that my paintings have a calm and relaxed atmosphere.
Whenever I take on a new model I like to spend our first meeting drawing a head portrait because it gives us both an opportunity to learn a bit about each other and make sure we're going to be happy doing more work together.

Hugh

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