Portraiture: this category of my blog includes articles and videos that talk about the genre of portraiture.

Giving myself a complex

I’ve been obsessed with portraiture’s embattled status since I chose my path in college, but, recently, I’ve realized that my fixation is a bit of a lie.  And it’s the Wizard of Id along with the Oregonian’s editorial staff and a few fellow artists who helped me see how.

Politics for art’s sake

In light of the most recent story about Randy Leonard’s spending scandal and other outrageous happenings in our democracy, I can’t help myself: I have to comment.

When my work is like a steakhouse dinner…

Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard and his portrait are back in the news today, this time with reporting by Steve Law of the Portland Tribune.

Direct-ness

Direct eye contact from a portrait is powerful tool, and one that I’m careful about using.

Legos and cupcakes and crayons, o my!

Making portraits in paint on canvas is less than hip these days, but photography isn’t to blame this time around.  Herb William’s crayon portraiture (not made with crayons on paper but made from the little wax sticks themselves) is just one of the many new forms of this old genre. 

In search of specificity

I can very easily make a pretty painting of a little girl: it’s much more difficult to make a portrait of one particular little girl.  That’s what makes portraiture so much more interesting than plain figurative work. 

From life

Is a portrait more true if it’s painted from life instead of from a photograph?  I don’t happen to think so, but I know a lot of people who do, so I decided to learn more about the logic of working from life by asking artist Tom Loepp about his more traditional—and maybe more romantic—way of painting a portrait. 

“Welcome to my hanging.”

There’s a scandal going on in Washington, and, for once, it’s got something to do with art!  When George W Bush unveiled his White House portrait recently, the President’s painted likeness was just the latest in a string of overpriced official portraits. 

Buying my work should qualify as an “official duty.”

While I was away last month, this portrait of Commissioner Randy Leonard apparently got itself into a bit of trouble.  Reporting by Nick Budnick of the Portland Tribune.

Something to sink my teeth into

As complicated as mouths are to paint, part the lips and the problem is only intensified.  Teeth are best hidden if you’re unsure of how to tackle them.  Nothing will make a painting look strained like a toothy mouth poorly painted.

A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth.

The 19th century American portraitist John Singer Sargent famously said so, and, in many ways, he was right. 

Expressive ears

My grandfather was a master at wiggling his, but, beyond that, I’ve never seen a person reveal much about who they are with their ears.  It’s not a human thing to have expressive ears: that realm of possibilities belongs to our furry friends.

Page 8 of 11 pages « First  <  6 7 8 9 10 >  Last »