Painting a portrait

Tia, 12"x9"

I've been finding myself drawn to portraiture lately. While I love painting landscapes, still life, and wildlife, I get bored easily and am always looking for a challenge. So recently I decided to jump into portraiture. For this piece, I chose a reference photo of my sister Tia.

I worked on a black sanded paper that I mounted to board. I loosely sketched in the shape of the head and used bright colors to shade the interior of the face - yellow for the forehead, red for the nose and cheeks, and green for the chin area. I then continued to slowly build up the features, looking carefully at my subject and attempting to keep the likeness while also creating a painterly effect.

Portraiture is definitely a challenge for me, so it's something I'll be exploring a lot more in the future.

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2 Responses to Painting a portrait

Great job! Portraits are challenging but my favourite thing to do, especially portraits of children. When I can capture not only a likeness but the emotion and character of the person it gives me a buzz that I can't get from a landscape or still life.

Posted by Rhonda Whittington · via kimeshelman.com · 63 months ago

I agree! While I don't paint portraits often, there is nothing like achieving that likeness. It's a wonderful feeling.

Posted by Kim Eshelman · via kimeshelman.com · 63 months ago

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