Portrait Artist Works To Please

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Art

Sunday, 16 January 2011 06:55

By D Francis

He's the portrait of stillness amidst a bustling Heritage Quay, at the heart of the city. That's because Gormingston Payne is creating portraits of his own with pencil and paper. Sadly, most are being bought by tourists.

"I don’t think Antigua is ready to embrace this as yet, and some of them have remarked that they will get it done overseas," he says. "Probably they think it’s better over there.” But Payne, who lived abroad for many years, said he has previously amazed customers and onlookers as he busily sketched on 42nd Street in New York.

He can capture one portrait in 10 minutes, a dual-sitting in 15 minutes, and three people in 20. On a good day, he's forced to send someone to quickly replenish his drawing pads.

“If I have a crowd, I put a few of them to sit down and I work on all of them at the same time on the different pages," he explained. "I don’t put one, then the other, then the other. I do everybody the same time, so when I’m through, they just go, and I start on another set."

Payne, who's been drawing since age six, wants more artists to come out and impress the public. “Stop the hiding up. Share your knowledge and skills... come out in the open, because when you’re gone, somebody else could continue doing what you were doing," he said.

He also wants to see more local exhibitions, particularly in tourist areas like Heritage Quay, so that the world can see the skills and talent that exist here.

This artist also draws by description, so that if a couple wants to include an absent child in the portrait, he works from description, or from a photograph

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“I start with the eyes, nose, and lips... then you form your circle around that to form the face and you fill in from there," he said. "Before I draw, I pray and ask the Mighty Father to guide my hand. I have a certain method of doing my work. If I try to do otherwise, I could mess up.”

He noted, "Some artists are particular with people keeping very still. But even though you move, I could still capture you. The most challenging portrait to draw is of babies, because they are always moving. If you can capture a baby, you can do anything else.”

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