Portrait painters, or portraitists, are visual artists specialising in painting portraits of people either on commission or as inspired by their admiration for the subject. The main characteristic of the genre is the resemblance with the subject, capturing not just their physical appearance, but their inner essence too.
Historically, portrait painters were commissioned by the rich and powerful but over time it became more common for middle class people to commission portraits of themselves or their families.
Today, the tradition continues and commissioning a portrait or commissioning art has become more accessible to the general public. There are many artists specialising in this genre, ready to paint either from a photograph or by having the subject sitting for them.
What makes a convincing portrait?
Portrait painters have to study their subject carefully and be aware of their anatomy, bone structure and asymmetry of the face. Then, regardless of the medium or style they paint in, artists tend to choose the eyes as the focal point of their portrait. If the portrait is at an angle, then the entire silhouette becomes the focal point of the artwork.
Besides the face or the figure they’re depicting, artists can also introduce interest in their paintings through a piece of jewellery, an interesting item of clothing, a hand gesture or by placing the subject in a context. This way, the viewer gets to know a little bit more about the person, beyond their physical appearance.
From a technical point of view, just like for any other artwork, artists need to respect the rules of composition, contrast and tone, and to play with light and dark areas.
Portrait artists and their self-portraits
It is very common for artists in general and for portrait artists in particular to paint their self-portrait. They will use a mirror and the finished portrait will appear inverted, unless they use a second mirror to deliberately change the orientation of the portrait.
Commissioning a portrait
Before commissioning a portrait or piece of art, there are a few aspects to think about. What is your preferred style (traditional, modern, etc)? What is your price range? Where will you hang the painting? How big do you want the artwork to be? What sort of portrait do you want: family portrait, a portrait of yourself (individual portrait), or a portrait of your children?
Once you have an idea of what you want, simply find a portrait painter to do the commission for you. You can find an artist online or via local galleries or arts community. Look through the artists’ portfolios first and choose the painter whose style appeals to you the most.
Portrait Painters at Art2Arts Online Gallery
From traditional and oil to digitally manipulated images, at Art2Arts you can find portrait studies, silhouettes that imply emotions, nudes and celebrities just to name a few. For example, Arie Coetzee creates delicate portrait studies, full of emotion and character while Dan Pearce creates his portraits by deconstructing scanned photographs and re-constructing them into stencil layers which are then carefully cut and assembled. Barry Withers has developed a form of street pop to create his portraits (a fusion of street art and pop art) while Simon Kirk creates celebrity portraits such as those of John Lennon and Michael Caine.
A portrait painting doesn’t always have to be one of yourself or the artist; these can depict celebrities, actors, historic figures or even anonymous people that made an impact on the artist.
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