Friday, August 24, 2012

Paint A Self Portrait - While You're Still Young!

Get those brushes out and create a visual record of yourself by painting a self-portrait. There's no question about it - the clock is ticking...and you're not getting any younger!

A portrait is more than a photograph.  It has a certain "qualite emotionnelle," a softness or sense of "other-worldliness." As an artist, you can be the editor. Don't like those wrinkles?  Leave them out. Want to take a few pounds off? Paint yourself slimmer.  Or if you're a realist, capture the actual truth by painting yourself as you are - warts and all.

Just think, in ten years you'll look at your self-portrait and say, "I was so young then..."


If you paint from a photograph, make sure it is a good one.  Don't use flash photography because it washes out the color and form. Use a strong light source if you want a little drama. Make sure the light comes from above (it looks more natural that way) and that it passes transversely across your face. This will create shadows that show-off your features and describe your form.


  

  
Set up in front of a mirror and paint from direct observation. It doesn't matter how you do it, the point is...to begin painting. 

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