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| Self Portrait. A 16 x 20 acrylic painting in progress by Mark Phillips |
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| Reference photo for Self Portrait |
First, let me thank everyone who has been reading this blog over the past months. I am pleased to say that I received over 20,000 views last month and I am well on the way towards bettering that this month. Thank you!
In an effort to show my appreciation for your support, later this week I will be organising a giveaway where one on you readers can win one of my paintings free of charge! I am working out the details now. I am thinking of using Facebook but they have a lot of rules that I am still trying to decipher,
I was approached recently to paint a series of portraits for a family. This would entail 7 portraits from photographs done on 16 x 20 canvases to be framed and hung by the owner. I was hesitant at first because it would require me dedicating considerable time to this one project. As most of you know, I am not a full-time artist. I don't make my living from art. I run my own business and am actively involved in the running of 3 others. My art is my relaxation time and I did not want to turn it into another job.
However, the patriarch of the family was a very persuasive man and his wife was so charming that they actually had me considering doing it!
Portrait painting goes back a long way. We’ve found funeral portraits from Egypt that date back to the 1st century BC. The portrait painting was alive a well by the 4th Century Greek and Roman time frame. Patrons wanted very realistic, even unflattering paintings of themselves and loved ones. This changed a bit thereafter as folks wanted a more idealistic view, and true representation of the individual didn’t reemerge until the Middle Ages. Paintings were done in egg tempera which gave us some fairly good depictions and brilliant colours. Then Van Eyck came along with adding oils to the egg tempera to allow for better blending in the shadow areas. This resulted in some magnificent works like Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa."
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| Pencil drawing based on Reference photo |
Portrait painting, however, still memorialized the rich and powerful, and the common man wouldn’t be included until the mid 18th century. This came about after the American Revolution, and folks realized we needed a record of some of the leaders and founders of the time, so early American portraitists depicted their subjects in patriotic and modest ways. (as opposed to luxury and aristocracy) Although artists wanted to throw off the appearance of luxury and monarchism within their works, the elite were the only ones that could afford a portrait.
Not much has changed today.
After an in-depth discussion on the history of portrait painting, I was almost convinced to take the commission so I set some ground rules.
- I would only paint a full face or three-quarter view.
- Photographs must be professionally taken with adequate lighting.
- I would only produce 1 painting per month.
I do not like drawing profile views because I find it very difficult to create a realistic likeness if I cannot reference both eyes. It is one of my weaknesses and I freely admitted it.
The profile view = the side view, strictly showing the side of the face.
The full face view = from directly in front. Looking straight on towards a persons face.
The three-quarter view = when the person has turned slightly to give you more view of the side of the head. Will usually include a better view of the ear.
Furthermore, to produce a realistic portrait I need to be able to draw the subject, so I would usually produce a pencil drawing before attempting a portrait in oils or acrylics.
After a more than 3 hour meeting, we came to an agreement. I would produce a sketch of a portrait of myself based on a photograph. If we were all happy with the results, I would accept the commision, a sizeable deposit and produce a portrait every month for the next 7 months starting in August.
Here, I am sharing with you the pencil drawing, the reference photo and the acrylic sketch that I will present to the client for approval. This sketch took me about 5 hours and it will take about 5 hours more to complete. Understandably, work like this is very expensive but portraits like these will be around for generations. I hope that I get around to finishing this one soon!
“A portrait is like an ornamental headstone. It is not for the subject, but for those who look upon it. For those you want to remember.” ― Julie Klassen, The Painter's Daughter
So, look out for the coming giveaway!
As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment. And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.
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