ART: A portrait of two artists

We examine the contrasting approaches of two talented RGS artists, ANGEL COOK and TESS HOLLOWAY, through the various stages as they painted a portrait of a fellow student. Head of art Mrs Henson says: "I found it interesting that both girls started at the same time but took completely different approaches. Art isn't about finding one 'correct' answer, it's about independence and building the confidence to take your own personal approach'

Angel, pictured left,  and Tess, right,  explain how they created their stunning works, while you can check out the likeness to the original subjects, below

Tess Holloway, 17, from Ripon, is studying art, English literature, psychology and politics at A-level and hopes to study English literature at university.

She painted a portrait is of Phoebe Burton after taking several photos of a number of people: "I thought her facial expression was the most interesting."

She explains: "I started the painting by making a sketch using a projector. I then filled in the darkest parts of the piece and worked my way up in value to the lightest parts, using mainly acrylic paint and then some chalk and pastel at the end to add highlights.

"The most challenging part was to accurately convey the contrast between the darkest and lightest parts, the photo was taken in very bright lighting so I wanted to make sure the light sections really stood out.'

It took her two to three weeks to complete it during art lessons: "At any one time I spent about two hours working on it in a triple lesson."

She's most pleased with the subtle colours within the half of the face in shadow and the individual strands of hair she added last."

She adds: "I think Phoebe liked it, although I was nervous about being able to properly capture her likeness as she was in the room when I painted it. My next painting will be another portrait, this time of my family. I enjoy painting old family photos which is what I did for my GCSE final piece."

Phoebe with her portrait

The artist with her work

Angel Cook, 17, from Ripon is studying art, psychology and English literature at A-level and hopes to study forensic psychology at Northumbria University.

Her portrait is of her friend Tess, the artist above: "I chose the photo because I want to paint a variety of ages and started with painting someone in the younger age range. My next artistic challenge is a portrait of our art technician Mr Davis, who has also been a big inspiration to me. I'm looking forward to continuing my journey of development over the coming months."

She uses acrylic paint as it's the medium she finds works best with her technique of dry brushing.

"My biggest challenge was dry brushing the darker tones in because the canvas soaks up the paint quickly, therefore it was hard to get an even coverage of dark without it being patchy."

The portrait took me about two-and-a-half weeks to complete, spending every art lesson on it.

"The aspects that I'm most pleased with are probably the eye and the subtle lines of chalk I incorporated near the bottom, taking inspiration from artist Jenny Saville.

"I think my subject, Tess, liked it. It was a lot better than a previous painting I had started of her and given up on so that was a positive," she says.

Tess with her portrait

The artist with her work