St Francis preaching to the birds

Every Thursday, I post #PortraitChallenge on my StudioTeaBreak account on Twitter (aka X). It's a chance to examine an old master portrait in detail and either copy it to try to learn the techniques and composition, or take it in another direction with a different medium or approach. Today I examined a woodblock print of Saint Francis preaching to the birds, created by Japanese artist Sadao Watanabe around 1983.

Usually I draw things out first in pencil and trace over them on my lightbox, but for this, I went straight to ink, not worrying so much about the final results. It meant I didn’t copy it as accurately as I could have done, but I lost myself more in Watanabe’s drawing, following his bold curves and sometimes wondering why he created certain lines. I also tried using a different brush pen that the one I usually use, this time a Derwent waterbrush, filled with Rohrer & Klingner sketch ink from Germany.

This reminded me a lot of copies I’ve made of Ethiopian Bible illustrations, the focus on line and pattern and the oddities of the hands, feet and faces. I love copying out these paintings, without sketching, it’s a slower and more meditative process, using a different part of the brain, almost akin to praying, which feels appropriate, considering the subject matter. I’ve always like St Francis. Here’s Watanabe’s original woodblock print:

You can see other people’s versions of this print over @StudioTeaBreak (if you’re registed on X).