Artist of the Year 2025: Masterclass - Season 1 Episode 34 Drawing with Coloured Pencils
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00:00Today's tutor, Curtis Holder, first impressed on Portrait Artist of the Year with his striking
00:16drawing of the iconic late drag queen, The Vivienne.
00:21It's scratchy and it's rough and it's energetic.
00:24It's like a little piece of magic.
00:26At the semi-final, his remarkable portrait of award-winning author Bernardine Evaristo
00:32amazed the sitter and earned him a place in the final three.
00:36Wow.
00:37They almost look like scribbles, but actually I'm emerging through them.
00:42And his commissioned piece of partner Steve and pet dog Freddy, along with his drawing
00:47of actor and author Eddie Izzard, saw him crowned Portrait Artist of the Year 2020.
00:54Curtis Holder.
00:59I feel a lot of things.
01:02It's quite overwhelming, but I don't miss that.
01:07For his winning commission, Curtis drew dancer and director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet,
01:12Carlos Acosta, of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
01:15I can't wait any longer.
01:17Let's do it.
01:20Wow.
01:21Wow.
01:28Curtis primarily works with pencils to create his large-scale portraits, and he'll be sharing
01:33the secrets to making them work with his masterclass, Drawing with Coloured Pencils.
01:52I'm going to show you how to produce an in-depth portrait to create a sense of mood and atmosphere
02:08in a medium that I love, which is, of course, coloured pencil.
02:14The type of pencil I'm using is a Lightfast pencil.
02:18Now I use this because the colour is guaranteed to stay true in museum conditions, and that's
02:28important to me because my work will, it may well go off to a gallery or museum.
02:35Okay, I think I'm ready to go.
02:38I've got my paper, I've got my pencils, my chosen medium, and I've got my model.
02:44Jorvis, you're looking great.
02:48I think we are set.
02:51Okay, now because I'm going to ask you to keep relatively still for a longer period
03:00of time, maybe about 10 minutes, I have a timer.
03:05Now this time is going to be for you.
03:09It's about 10 minutes.
03:11Not only is it a timer, but it also acts as something for you to look at and give your
03:19focus to.
03:20So get in a really comfortable position, it can be any position you want, because looking
03:25at that, your focus is going to be on that, it's not going to be on me.
03:29Ready?
03:30Yes, ready.
03:31Okay, let's have a look.
03:39I like this, the shape that you're making, starting at the top of your head and working
03:45through that, that elbow, that left elbow, and then out through that hand.
03:54So I'm going to put the top of the head there.
03:58And I'm going to say that maybe the bottom of the head is going to be there.
04:06And at the moment, they're just lines, straight lines.
04:14Really simple shapes.
04:17And with pencil, and the way I use pencil, it's better to go from really simple shapes
04:33to more complicated shapes.
04:37But start simple.
04:39Right, now I've got the basic, very basic shape of where things are going.
04:49So now I've got all of that in place.
04:53What I want to do is I want to get my proportional dividers.
04:56It's a way for me to check that I have got the proportions correct.
05:03So the way I would use these is I would extend my arm, close one eye, and look at that shape,
05:16the distance.
05:17At the moment, I'm measuring the width of Jarvis's head.
05:23Now, with these proportions, oh wow, oh my god, wow, that never happens.
05:30I've actually got the size I want.
05:33So I've roughly plotted in the size, the width of the head that I want, and that's measured
05:41by these two points here.
05:45And then I've put those smaller points, I'm measuring them against Jarvis's head.
05:51And they're the same.
05:52So that point there on Jarvis's face is equivalent to that.
06:00So now I know, now I know that I've got that right, then I can measure everything else
06:05off that.
06:13Whenever I create any kind of drawing, I will always start with preliminary drawings that
06:20I have done showing different techniques and ways of drawing just to loosen me up and
06:27to understand what I want the final drawing to look like.
06:33It's a way of clarifying proportion and composition, as well as getting to know my sitter.
06:42So I've done all of those things before I get here, and this is now where I really try
06:51to nail the drawing that I want.
07:05I can't lie, I think I'm going to have to move my hand.
07:07That's okay.
07:08Is this position good?
07:10That position is fine.
07:11And I think it's brilliant that Jarvis has said this now, because we're at the planning
07:18stage of the drawing.
07:21So let's just remeasure where that hand is.
07:26So I'm now looking at where that wrist is.
07:33And what's brilliant about wearing this jacket, it gives you a very clear definition of where
07:40those joints are.
07:42So that's really helpful for me.
07:56So what I'm doing now, I'm putting in quite large structural lines to show edges of what
08:06I can see.
08:08And measuring is kind of like putting a jigsaw together.
08:14After I've done the overall shape of what I'm looking at, I'll go in and usually I'll
08:22get the eyeline in.
08:24I know that it's usually halfway down there.
08:31Once I've got that in, I'll usually measure one eye width and pop it in where I think
08:43it should go.
08:45And then once I've got that width, I'll use that as a guide to compare and measure other
08:54lengths, other measurements.
09:06Are you okay?
09:07Do you want a little break?
09:08Yeah, sure.
09:09Yeah, let's give our model a little break.
09:13That's why I love that timer, because if I forget to break, the model can see exactly
09:20when they need to stop.
09:22And also remember to have a little stretch yourself because you'll seize up as well because
09:26you're in the same position.
09:34What we are going to do now is after we've got the basic structure in, so now instead
09:41of looking for the most obvious structural details like the top of the head, where the
09:48chin is, where the shoulder is, where the zip is, what I'm going to do is home in on
09:57basic shadow shapes.
09:59So the shapes, if I squint and look at my model, I will see certain shapes in the face
10:07and on the neck and on the clothing where the line of each thing isn't so obvious.
10:21For example, where we see the edge of the collar, I can see the point of that collar
10:29because the sheen of the jacket is the highlight which makes that area look really light against
10:38this fur and it's creating this shape that then just kind of melts into the jacket.
10:45So really, if I squint, it's really difficult for me to see the edge of the collar.
10:51I know I've drawn it in here, but actually it's really difficult for me to see the edge
10:56of the collar.
10:58And so I'm going to draw that shape as just one shape and work out that detail later.
11:07Okay, we've got the main structure of this portrait down.
11:13Things are more or less in the right place.
11:16So really what I was going for were the big shapes that make up the whole of what I'm
11:24looking at.
11:26And once those are in place, now's the time to start looking at more detail, but not too
11:34much detail.
11:35So what I'm going to be looking for now are shadow shapes and those are the shapes that
11:42you see if you kind of squint.
11:44Now if I'm squinting and looking at Jarvis, what I can see is the brightest bit of his
11:52face is this highlight on his cheekbone and that's because really it's closest to the
11:58light source.
12:00So I'm going to really lightly put that shape in and don't be alarmed that it's a weird
12:08shape in a weird place.
12:09It will make sense as you're creating this drawing.
12:13Now that's the lightest part of his face and then I can see from that a shadow shape that
12:20falls under his eye socket, just there, which actually highlights the shape of the nose
12:31and where the light is hitting the side of his nose.
12:34That's like a triangle and finding these shadow shapes really helps describe the face more
12:43accurately.
12:46But what I can see, again, drawing, painting, whatever you're doing, it's an exercise in
12:53looking, looking and adjusting, constantly looking and adjusting.
12:58And that's why it's a good idea to go in light, especially with pencil, to go in quite lightly
13:05at first and then build up the layers.
13:09It's better to have a light touch and look at where I'm holding my pencil, it's right
13:15at the end.
13:16The lines I'm making are way more fluid and easy and just light.
13:46Right, I've got to a stage now where I've pulled out shadow shapes enough for me to
13:54see and I've worked into the darker areas as much as I can with this single colour.
14:04So I think it's about time that I mix up my colour palette a bit and start to go a bit
14:12darker and work on another layer, which emphasises those shadow shapes, but with darker crayons.
14:20And I think I've got a range of browns and purples.
14:25So we're still staying with the reds, but we're bringing in something a bit more complex
14:31and a bit more towards the skin tone of our model.
14:39I'm going to start with what I perceive as the darkest areas, which are the eye sockets.
14:49So I'm constantly squinting and looking for shape.
14:55The gradual build-up of tone isn't as obvious as you may want it to be, but trust in the
15:03process, be patient, keep layering, and it will appear gradually.
15:11Right, what I'm starting to do now is, as well as going into
15:40the darker areas and slowly layering up and intensifying that colour, I'm also starting
15:47to use a finer and darker line to really accentuate the darkest dark areas.
15:56So where the lips meet, that centre line, trying to put that in, and then the areas
16:07of the nostrils and the area of the eye socket.
16:15So to build up that area of tone, you'll notice that the lines I'm making are shorter and
16:25more intense, they're closer together, which helps with the build-up of colour.
16:37So obviously his hair is brilliant because the way it's plaited is giving us an idea
16:51of volume because where the plaits are separated gives us a very faint line, which describes
17:01the scalp.
17:02So whenever you see anything like this that describes the shape and volume of the head,
17:10just use it.
17:24The pencil marks that I'm using here are a little bit of descriptive plait work.
17:31So I'm not really drawing an exact shape, but I am varying my line slightly just to
17:41give and add a suggestion of the texture of the hair, which, if you look closely, gets
17:50quite dense towards the centre of each plait and then fades out.
18:02What I'm starting to do now is define certain lines, define certain areas just to pull everything
18:12together and I'm going to start using my pencil in a slightly different way.
18:20In a way that I would call script, as if you were writing, because holding your pencil
18:27like this and further down gives you more control and allows you to make darker lines
18:37because you can press on a little heavier.
18:40And those bits for me on Jarvis are the line between his resting hand and the neck because
18:50the neck is in darkness and semi-darkness.
18:54However, his hand, the plane of that palm, the lower palm, is kind of bathed in light.
19:02If I squint, it's probably one of the lightest patches on this drawing.
19:08And so if I don't feel it's been described through tone, then I'm going to use a line.
19:16I'm not going to over-egg this pudding, but it does mean I need to get it as spot-on as I can.
19:31If I was going to use a highlight on this drawing, it would be right at the edge of
19:39that cheekbone, right there.
19:42What I've got is a precision eraser.
19:47Now these come in many shapes, forms, but I love using this because the point is really
19:52small and I don't have to rub, I just press a button, which means I'm a little bit lazy.
19:56But if you don't have one of these, another trick is to get any rubber like this, any
20:10old rubber, just one you like anyway, and slice it with a craft knife until it gives
20:17you a sharp edge.
20:20And you can use that, it's just as good.
20:24But I'm just being a bit posh, so don't mind me.
20:29So let's see if I can pop in a highlight.
20:40I reckon we're almost done for today.
21:06You've been absolutely brilliant.
21:09Yeah, let's just finish off there.
21:11Do you want to see it?
21:12I'm ready.
21:14You say that now.
21:15Okay, there we go.
21:18Oh my God.
21:21I don't even know what to say, like, I've never seen a portrait of me or of anyone even
21:26like that, like that's actually amazing.
21:28Thank you very much.
21:32Now, this drawing I feel has come to its conclusion.
21:38I hope, if anything, today I've inspired you to just give it a go and just create something
21:47new, but this time with some coloured pencils.
21:54If you'd like to find out more about these masterclasses, go to our website skyartsartistoftheyear.tv.