Portrait painting is serious business. Truly, there is a lot
at stake for the many professional portrait artists out there who paint
dignitaries, presidents, and the like. But portraiture can also be incredibly
fun! A show I recently saw at Elisa Contemporary Art reinforced this for me.
Their latest exhibition featured artists painting portraits of their favorite superheroes.
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Wonder Man by Peter Buchman,
painted wood mosaic, resin, 20 x 16. |
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It was incredible to see artists who are not necessarily
portrait artists take to the idea of capturing a likeness of a person in such a
creative way. Of course, this particular kind of portrait art is unique in that
the artists were usually capturing a very obvious aspect of a person--a physical
ability or signature outfit.
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Digital print from Nowhere Man
by Jerome Walford. |
But in many ways this is the method used by "real" portrait
painting artists: accentuate a handful of details that makes the sitter unique;
study his or her expression and gesture; and put in something that makes the
viewer sit up and take notice! So, sure, why not start working on my portrait
painting techniques with a subject that is larger than life? It certainly would
make the question of what to focus on much easier to answer.
If you want to paint your hero--real, or the masked and caped
kind--or a loved one, friend, or studio model for that matter, all the same
skills apply. And you can get a great foundation for portrait art, no matter
who you decide to paint, with one of our newest eBooks, Painting Portraits in Watercolor. This is a wide-ranging resource
that covers plenty of ground and doesn't scrimp on the
details of the fine art of portrait painting. You get to download it right to
your computer too. No waiting for the mail to come. Which means the portrait of
your favorite masked man is just around the corner. Enjoy!
