[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":100},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-st-francis-watanabe":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":91,"excerpt":92,"featuredImage":93,"ogImage":91,"publishedAt":95,"seoDescription":91,"seoTitle":91,"slug":96,"tags":97,"title":99},"blogPost",[6,29,36,44,52,59,67,72],{"_key":7,"_type":8,"children":9,"markDefs":24,"style":28},"7e76581a0ba8","block",[10,15,20],{"_key":11,"_type":12,"marks":13,"text":14},"fad80af200e2","span",[],"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 ",{"_key":16,"_type":12,"marks":17,"text":19},"45d4cf026691",[18],"9213225b0ad0","Sadao Watanabe",{"_key":21,"_type":12,"marks":22,"text":23},"2e41ac1e4547",[]," around 1983. ",[25],{"_key":18,"_type":26,"href":27},"link","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadao_Watanabe_(artist)","normal",{"_key":30,"_type":31,"alt":32,"asset":33},"3ad91194756b","image","St Francis preaching to the birds, a study of Sadao Watanabe's woodblock print",{"_ref":34,"_type":35},"image-8cd2be0087f77e4b4cf299483a8c278d7bf51a07-774x1000-jpg","reference",{"_key":37,"_type":8,"children":38,"markDefs":43,"style":28},"222cfe635184",[39],{"_key":40,"_type":12,"marks":41,"text":42},"d6086de09d78",[],"",[],{"_key":45,"_type":8,"children":46,"markDefs":51,"style":28},"d118412fc944",[47],{"_key":48,"_type":12,"marks":49,"text":50},"27473ceb8d19",[],"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. ",[],{"_key":53,"_type":8,"children":54,"markDefs":58,"style":28},"b851d138f659",[55],{"_key":56,"_type":12,"marks":57,"text":42},"2fc9fe1e2987",[],[],{"_key":60,"_type":8,"children":61,"markDefs":66,"style":28},"223d7865f8b6",[62],{"_key":63,"_type":12,"marks":64,"text":65},"1945794c1a51",[],"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: ",[],{"_key":68,"_type":31,"alt":69,"asset":70},"34116aff7230","Original print by Sadao Watanabe, 1983",{"_ref":71,"_type":35},"image-794c399e00481a7e7545866c0aec920d2915a2f9-911x1199-jpg",{"_key":73,"_type":8,"children":74,"markDefs":88,"style":28},"08e8c82f7807",[75,79,84],{"_key":76,"_type":12,"marks":77,"text":78},"00e0bae2efb6",[],"You can see other people’s versions of this print over ",{"_key":80,"_type":12,"marks":81,"text":83},"338bae41c58a",[82],"0097bc522a64","@StudioTeaBreak",{"_key":85,"_type":12,"marks":86,"text":87},"cfb5f3dc1e49",[]," (if you’re registed on X). ",[89],{"_key":82,"_type":26,"href":90},"https://x.com/StudioTeaBreak",null,"Today's #PortraitChallenge, a woodcut print by Sadao Watanabe, 1983",{"_type":31,"alt":91,"asset":94,"crop":91,"hotspot":91,"url":91},{"_ref":34,"_type":35},"2026-09-18T16:04:23.625Z","st-francis-watanabe",[98],"sketchbook","St Francis preaching to the birds",1789751559889]