(Already read Part 1? Here’s Part 2)
So you’re going to have your portrait painted. That means you’ll sit in a studio for hours on end while the artist paints you, right?
Well, it used to mean that. But click “Procedure” on almost any portrait artist’s website – including those who get $10,000 and up for a portrait. You’ll find that these days the “portrait sitting” is commonly a photo shoot that happens before the artist’s brush ever strokes canvas. After the shoot, the client and the artist select a photograph on which to base the portrait. Then the client can disappear while the lengthy work of the actual painting is accomplished.
“Assuming that a portrait created from photo reference is intrinsically inferior to one painted from life is putting the responsibility on the process rather than the artist. If only it were that simple. You can paint from life until the next millennium and never do anything worthwhile.
I’ve seen incredible paintings done from life and beautiful paintings done from photos too. However, the vast majority of portraits I’ve seen are poorly thought out and ineptly handled regardless of whether from life or photo reference.
I believe that injecting the quality of life into a painting comes from the artist’s heart, intent, knowledge and talent.”
Marvin Mattelson, Portrait artist, permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Portrait Gallery. (http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=8582)
There are still a few portrait artists – such as Mary Minifie in Boston – who insist on the importance of working only from life. Some other portraitists accompany their photo sessions with quick, one-time studies (sketches) from life. Afterwards, they paint the portrait itself without the subject present.
When the painter is a terrific artist to begin with, painting from photographs can create exquisite portraits, the kind of art you want to gaze at forever. Look at this beautiful little boy (Full size portrait by Jonathan Linton here). His eyes speak to you, appealing to you emotionally. Every detail of the background creates a very unusual atmosphere. The boy, chair, hangings, and window all hint at a mysterious story that engages us and makes us wish we could know more.
There are many good reasons why portraitists have shifted to using photos. Clients don’t want to take time or energy to travel repeatedly to the artist’s studio and sit motionless for the endless hours it takes to paint a portrait. A subject who poses usually gets tired and bored as time passes. The head droops, shadows shift, angles change, new wrinkles appear in clothing. All make painting problematic. So artists have always seized on technological tools as fast as they’re invented, to develop new ways of capturing their subjects in paint.
Of course, portraitists who successfully use photographs are able to do so because they have trained endlessly in drawing from life. They have a vast bank of experience observing and painting the myriad elements of color, line, human physique, and so on. When portrait artists paint from photographs, they are drawing on this store of knowledge and practice.
Copying a photo will not make a great painting, but neither will copying from life. It is the understanding that the artist brings to his work that makes it something more. How to strategize the construction of a painting is the commonality I believe that distinguishes the work of all great artists.
I think that if the old masters were alive today they would absolutely take full advantage of today’s technology and couple it with their extraordinary knowledge. Great artists are always looking to utilize whatever will make themselves more effective. Vermeer used optical devices. Bouguereau and Gerome both took full advantage of photography, and look how they raised the bar.
Marvin Mattelson
But how can art grow from snapshots?
Many in the art world insist that portraitists who paint from photographs use only photos the artist takes him or herself. Many portrait competitions stipulate this. The reason is to prove that the artist isn’t using some one else’s vision, some one else’s composition, lighting, color choices, and so on. Rather, the artist must make all these choices, based on their own artistry and technical skill.
It’s easy to understand the perspective that a painting based on a photo taken by some one else – or worse, some magazine photo of a well-known person – isn’t art. Online portrait factories (“send me your family snapshot and I’ll turn it into a portrait and mail it back to you”) have proliferated. You can have a $100 copy painted of your own photo without even meeting the painter. I would not argue that such an approach produces great art.
At the same time, I’d like to bring another perspective to personal snapshots. I believe that, treated properly, they can indeed be central to a work of art. I’ll write more about this out-of-the-box approach next post.
deep web market links reddit darknet drugs germany [url=https://onion-darknetmarkets.link/ ]alpha market url [/url]
darknet website for drugs dark markets monaco [url=https://mytordarknetmarket.shop/ ]darknet drugs reddit [/url]
darknet market ranking darknet market place search [url=https://mydeepdrugurl.shop/ ]best darknet market uk [/url]
deep web software market Cocorico darknet Market [url=https://premiumwebdrugurl.shop/ ]asap darknet market [/url]
buds express monkey xtc pill [url=https://mydarkwebmarketslinks.com/ ]how to access the dark web reddit [/url]
onion seiten 2023 counterfeit money dark web reddit [url=https://premiumdarkmarkets.shop/ ]what are darknet drug markets [/url]
versus project market url darknet vendor reviews [url=https://mytordarknetmarket.link/ ]2022 working darknet market [/url]
verified darknet market underground dumps shop [url=https://premiumwebmarketlinks.com/ ]dark markets macedonia [/url]
darknet market noobs bible best onion sites 2023 [url=https://mytordarknetmarket.shop/ ]dark web electronics [/url]
legit darknet sites the dark web url [url=https://premiumwebmarketlinks.com/ ]deep web drug links [/url]
underground card shop deep web market links reddit [url=https://premiumdarkmarket24.shop/ ]how to access darknet market [/url]
dark websites tor market url [url=https://premiumwebmarketlinks.com/ ]buying drugs online [/url]
darkmarket link tor market links [url=https://oniondarknet.com/ ]how to shop on dark web [/url]
darknet software market darkweb markets [url=https://premiumdarkmarket24.shop/ ]reddit darknet market australia [/url]
darknet market features dnm market [url=https://mytormarket24.com/ ]drugs on the darknet [/url]
dumps shop new darknet markets [url=https://onion-darknetmarkets.shop/ ]darkmarket website [/url]
[url=http://medstore911.com/]pharmacy in canada for viagra[/url]
best websites dark web how to get on the dark web on laptop [url=https://privatedarkmarket.com/ ]onion live links [/url]
black market prescription drugs for sale black market drugs [url=https://oniondarknet.com/ ]cypher market darknet [/url]
Kingdom Market darknet counterfeit money onion [url=https://private-darkmarket.shop/ ]hire an assassin dark web [/url]
alphabay market onion link top ten dark web [url=https://privatedarkmarkets.com/ ]the darknet markets [/url]
active darknet market urls reddit darknet markets noobs [url=https://onion-darknetmarkets.shop/ ]tor darknet markets [/url]
asap market links tor 2023 [url=https://private-darkmarket.shop/ ]top darknet market 2022 [/url]
[url=https://antabusex.com/]over the counter antabuse[/url]
cypher market darknet black market websites 2023 [url=https://mydarkwebmarketlist.link/ ]crypto darknet drug shop [/url]
darknet reinkommen best drug darknet [url=https://privatedarkmarket.com/ ]darknet black market url [/url]
tor2door market url tor markets [url=https://mydeepdrugstore.link/ ]Cocorico url [/url]
alphabay market url alphabay link [url=https://alphabayurllist.com/ ]alphabay market [/url]
dark markets luxembourg decentralized darknet market [url=https://opendarknetmarket.com/ ]darkfox market url [/url]
what darknet markets are still up how to access darknet markets [url=https://privatedarkmarket.link/ ]dark web market list [/url]
cannazone grey market link [url=https://mydarkwebmarketlist.link/ ]darknet drugs price [/url]
what darknet markets are up working dark web links [url=https://mydeepdrugstore.link/ ]darknet market forum [/url]
onion live carding deep web links [url=https://privatedarkmarket.shop/ ]reddit working darknet markets [/url]
alphabay link alphabay link [url=https://alphabayurllist.com/ ]alphabay link [/url]
how to use onion sites bitcoin darknet drugs [url=https://opendarknetmarket.com/ ]darknet market reddit [/url]
darknet market superlist hire an assassin dark web [url=https://mydarkwebmarketlist.com/ ]pink versace pill [/url]
tor dark web oniondir deep web link directory [url=https://oniondarknet.shop/ ]reddit darknet reviews [/url]
market onion uncensored hidden wiki link [url=https://mydeepdrugstore.link/ ]darknet new market link [/url]
tfmpp pills dark net market list [url=https://mydeepdrugstore.shop/ ]what darknet markets sell fentanyl [/url]
alphabay url alphabay url [url=https://alphabay-url-darknet.com/ ]alphabay link [/url]
best darknet market reddit 2022 darknet drug delivery [url=https://private-darkmarket.com/ ]list of dark net markets [/url]
underground dumps shop darknet market links 2023 reddit [url=https://opendarknetmarket.com/ ]best mdma vendor darknet market reddit [/url]
black market cryptocurrency buy darknet market email address [url=https://mydarkwebmarketlist.link/ ]cannahome market [/url]
list of darknet markets 2022 tor markets [url=https://mydeepdrugurl.com/ ]dark web directory [/url]
oniondir deep web link directory darkweb форум [url=https://mydeepdrugstore.com/ ]dark markets india [/url]
alphabay market link alphabay darknet market [url=https://alphabayurls.com/ ]alphabay market [/url]
market onion tor darknet markets [url=https://private-darkmarket.com/ ]darknet drug market [/url]
darknet drugs sales darknet market deep dot web [url=https://opendarknetmarket.com/ ]the real deal market darknet [/url]
alphabay market darknet alphabay market url [url=https://alphabayoriginal.com/ ]alphabay darknet market [/url]
current darknet markets best darknet market australia [url=https://mrmarketonion.shop/ ]darknet markets still up [/url]