Painting Portrait Tips / Lots of information about how to paint a portrait
Not always portraits. Lately I have not been accepting every portrait commission. I want to have more time to try other things, which I never had the opportunity to do. It is a new chapter for me. Continue reading “Not always portraits”
Here I show you, step by step, how I painted this portrait, with a different approach as usual. I chose to start without a detailed drawing. Continue reading “Portrait painting, a different approach”
Carpentry for portrait painting. As I get the opportunity I love to do craftwork, preferably in wood. I always wanted to be a carpenter, I have written about this before. And I’ll confess something else to you. For a long time, carpentry gave me more pleasure than painting. Believe me. Continue reading “Carpentry for portrait painting”
Lighting a model for portrait painting. One can illuminate a portrait in many ways. There is not only one correct lighting. However, as we study with a live model in my studio, once a week with a number of fellow artists, I prefer a simple set-up: one single light source directly above the head of the model.
When I worked this week on a quick sketch of this portrait, again it came to mind how often I see students paint almost without any paint on the canvas. Far too thin and almost transparent. Continue reading “Portrait painters: use more paint!”
Last month someone asked for the original photographs of “Little Boy” and “Little Girl” From today they are free to download here. I’ve also added the pictures of the painted portraits.
As you know by now, painting commissioned portraits is an essential part of my daily artistic activity and has been for more than twenty-five years. I like to talk about it over and over again and hope that you can benefit from this.
Let me repeat this week what I consider to be the most important properties for a portrait painter.
If you have the intention to start working from life model try to find some friends to join you and agree a fixed day and hour in the week. It is good to have some obligation.
This week I received a question on artificial light for a painter´s studio.
The answer is to be found in the menu Tips & tricks. However I repeat that topic here.
My Studio in Chelva does not have sufficient daylight. So I decided to use a fluorescent lighting. I mounted four standard light boxes with eight fluorescent tubes of 150 cm. Continue reading “Artificial light for a painter´s studio”
More than once people asked how a novice portraitist must decide his prices. I remember I once said: If you don’t have any orders you are either too expensive, or you have too little quality. If you have too many commissions, it may be that you are too cheap.
An interesting book that I am currently reading is “The lives of Jan Six”, written by the Dutch historian Geert Mak. I do not know if there is an English translation. Continue reading “Art flows to where the money is”
