Practice: this category includes all articles and videos that discuss the practice of making art.

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.

Knows nose.

Reproducing David’s nose (or, for that matter, anyone’s nose) precisely in a portrait is not that important to creating an arresting likeness.

Eye like you.

How the size of a person’s pupil can make her-him more or less attractive.

Putting your best FACE forward

Certain expressions are better for portraits than others.  In choosing a source photo from which to work, it’s crucial to think of the subject’s character and what you want to say about her-him, but it’s equally important to pick an expression that will work well in paint.

A funny kind of family

I’m not the kind of artist who can work on just one painting at a time: my studio has to be full of half-made faces or I can’t paint. 

Before and AFTER: Heart Transplant

The story of a heart transplant surgery told in two paintings.

Gwenn Seemel, LANDSCAPE painter.

Because I would hate to seem predictable.

The secret lives of everyone else

My oeuvre may not add up to publishable sociological data, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t done enough interviews to discover the one thing that most of us secretly have in common.

Done!

How do you know when you’ve completed a painting?

Details, details…

When we’re young, our faces are smooth: it’s only as we live and grow that we accumulate details.  Painting a child’s portrait is difficult specifically because of this lack of detail.

On view finding and voice finding

A camera is every kind of artist’s best friend.  I may not be a photographer, but I still like having my camera handy.  I’ve found that taking photos is an excellent way for me to train myself to notice details as well as practice designing compositions, both skills that I need for painting.

I (never) made a painting from this sketch.

Well, actually, I did make the painting, but I didn’t document it, so I may as well never have made it.

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