Monty 

Here is a portrait of Bernard Law Montgomery with his famous Royal Tank Regiment beret.

 

The artist started with a rough sketch, using a watercolour pencil for the purpose.

Then comes the painting in oil, with colours mixed together not on a palette but directly on the linen surface.

 

The artist opted first for an ochre backdrop, which usually comes before the sketching and sets the tone in terms of colours (see nude entitled "Auloniad"). In the present painting, it was done after, which wasn't the best of choices.

It is here displayed with a portrait of Churchill wearing the uniform of an air commodore.

After consideration, the artist replaced the said ochre backdrop with a white greyish sky, better suited to set off the man's suntan acquired in the Lybian desert.

 

"Monty is one of my all-time favourite. A nonstandard personality, sporting facial features that are wondefurl for a portraitist. A salient, angular chin. A prominent aquiline nose. And clear, penetrating eyes which could be icy when displeased."