Let’s talk portraiture

Every day at any given time we encounter faces; faces on the bus, on the train, on Social Media, on TV, newspapers, photographs around our home, our family, friends, colleagues, best friends, our room mates, even our pets have faces. How we see them and how we perceive how interesting they are is a matter of artistic vision. Do you look for pretty faces, young faces, faces with interesting features, or maybe you find decorative elements interesting? Or maybe you like the experience you see in the face that sets you off thinking about this person and their experience in life.

When I choose a face to draw or paint I look for unusual interest points, like an unusual nose, a fanciful hairdo or just the love I feel for my child that moves me to create. I enjoy what we call 'experience' in the face; a face with wrinkles, laugh lines, grooves and valleys. All of these present points of interest. When I paint portraits my main goal is to evoke an emotion, capture a moment in time the subject is experiencing.

I’ve recently completed yet another drawing challenge: drawing a face each day for thirty consecutive days. As part of an artistic community we do this 3-4 times each year. And each year we’re presented with new muses and new leading artists who demonstrate their methods and techniques of portraiture. I always find it a wonderful challenge because it forces me to show up and create each and every day, and at the same time it hones my unique creative language.

Challenges are also a great way to start up your creative process, which not only provides an artistic outlet, but also creates neurological pathways that give bursts of endorphins into the brain. So, a win-win proposition. Join a group of artists and try your hand at portrait drawing or painting and see where that takes you.

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