If eyes are “the window to the soul”, does that make them the most difficult facial feature to paint?
“FOR me, eyes are not the hardest things to paint but as a general rule – unlike many other portrait artists – I always paint the eyes last.
“To me they are the cherry on the cake and if I painted them first I wouldn’t give the rest of the face the attention it needs.
“I can get very excited about skin/flesh, the colours there and how everything around a person reflects and changes the tone. Fascinating stuff…well, to me anyway!
“Arguably, I would say an open-mouth smile is the hardest part to paint: very hard to get natural looking.”
Sue Clayton has painted Rotherham Covid-19 ward nurse Rachel Beal for the #portraitsfornhsheroes project, from photographs sent by Rachel’s husband, Greg.
“One image particularly drew my attention: her smile beaming and her hands held up in a heart shape,” says Sue.