Blog / 2022 / The Many Faces of a Portrait
November 28, 2022
Learn more about Kelly, the subject of this portrait, on her site. Her portrait along with the rest Friend Request is on display in Winifred Weiss’ studio window in Lambertville, New Jersey, and the show has been extended into December!
Winifred’s studio window
17 Church Street
(at the intersection with George)
Lambertville, NJ 08530
Open: now through December 12th
Hours: whenever (you can look in from the street)
Kelly
2022
acrylic on paper
7 x 5 inches
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Portrait paintings almost never look like their subject the whole time you’re working on them. And in this case, where I painted two portraits of the same person from the same reference photo in order to make one finished artwork, that’s especially clear.
In the first version of Kelly’s portrait, the painting looked a lot like Kelly until it really didn’t. That’s when I decided to scrap the image. It just felt overworked.
In the final version of Kelly’s portrait, the painting looked a complete mess for a large portion of the process, and then, like a camera lens coming into focus, it finally clicked into place.
I think this is part of what makes portraiture so hard: you have to hold onto your certainty as an artist. With non-portraits, an artist can decide a painting is done when the paint looks right, but a portrait can only be complete when it looks like the person who inspired it.
This video is made with love and microdonations from my community!
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