Wednesday, July 25, 2012


(Clockwise from top left: "Jenny" by tushtush; "Ellen" by tuesday mourning; Days Like This by Fine Point Studio - Carol Hopper; Portrait by Michael Hammer; "The Boy in the Black Bow Tie" by Kiki & Polly - Lisa Golightly.)

This collection features unusual portraits in a variety of styles, all hand-drawn or painted with a sparse or somewhat unexpected use of color. My favorite thing about portraits, and these are no exception, is each unique expression captured. Even the Kiki & Polly portrait, which lacks definite facial characteristics, still conveys a certain expression. I love to study faces, to look into the subject's eyes and imagine what this person must have been thinking, what his or her life might be like. Whether the subject is real or imaginary makes no difference.

Alice Neel (who is probably most known for her portraits) said, "Whether I'm painting or not, I have this overweening interest in humanity. Even if I'm not working, I'm still analyzing people." When I read that it rang true for me too. Despite the fact that I'm an introvert, I'm very interested in people. A good portrait can tell you so much about a person, don't you think?

11 comments:

  1. You are seriously so amazing at finding the best pieces! Love this series.

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  2. oh my god! finally a blog about ART, Beauitul image, I love portraiture work!
    much love ^.^
    alexa
    naivebones.blogspot.com

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  3. I could sit and people watch for hours! It's my favorite thing to do at the mall or a big outing!
    Ellen is my favorite here :)

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  4. Brilliant! I can actually feel the concentration of the lady in the top left painting!

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  5. They are all fascinating. As I feel, I always failed in this chapter of my fine arts study, I really adore the makers of good portraits,

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  6. How do you manage to always find such impressive artists! I so enjoy dropping by and getting my spirits elevated!

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  7. What wonderful finds, very impressive artwork! The first two are my favorites!

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  8. I feel like we introverts are the most observant about people because we'd rather just look around than interact. Extroverts are too busy talking to notice the details. :-)

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  9. Beautiful collection! And yes, I agree that a good portrait can tell so much about a person. I have a degree in theatre, and we did an exercise where we had to convey emotion in our faces through still photographs (without being obvious). It was really cool, and I think about it all the time when I see portraits like the ones you featured here.

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  10. I really like portraits. I wish I could draw faces. My drawings would come out more like stick figures. I like how you can see a person's emotion through their artwork. It's amazing.

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