He was in awe of his appearance, his full beard, smart blue uniform and colorful complexion but also of his character, considering him to be something of a Socrates. Vincent Van Gogh painted and drew Joseph Roulin on numerous occasions whilst living in Arles, in the south of France. Joseph Roulin, Van Gogh’s postman friend in Arles I am very pleased with the result.” Van Gogh’s original portrait of Joseph Roulin alongside David’s completed felt tip doodle. The whole process took the best part of an hour and I enjoyed drawing loosely like Van Gogh very much. When it came to the postman’s cap I painted the lettering first in bright yellow and then surrounded it with the blue/black of the cap. I started by quickly drawing in the outlines without rigorously following the printed lines – as though I was doing a sketch of my own – and I tried to continue this loose approach throughout the picture. I chose felt tip pens for drawing from Van Gogh’s The Postman portrait because their colours are bright like the bold colours used in the painting, particularly in the face.

How to draw postman