Lately I’ve been in the mood to capture strange faces in paint.  It’s been awhile since I dabbled in portraiture, so it was fun to play around with the paint and see what happens. 

Mister – 4″ x 6″ – Acrylic, Watercolor and Ink on Paper

Available for Purchase here

The inspiration for this painting was a face that I found in an advertisement in a Flemish magazine that someone gave me.  I never directly copy images that I find in magazines; rather, I use them as guides to get an idea of different face structures and shadows.  The guy in the magazine ad appeared very “masculine”, in the way that models in ads always seem to take themselves and their looks so seriously.  So I decided to take this portrait in the opposite route.  I had some fun by making his fictitious watercolor counterpart a bit more flamboyant.  He seems like a bit of a harlequin or cross-dresser. 

This dapper fellow has violet-ultramarine eyes, teal eyeshadow, and light red lips. His hair is punked out with red-orange and cream stripes, highlighted with a sienna pattern of circles and waves. He wears a fancy poofy neckpiece, and the rest of him fades into watery blackness. He stares fixedly at the viewer with his unabashed gaze. He certainly is an unusual specimen! The face and background were done in watercolors, the hair was done in acrylics, and the fancy neckpiece was done with ink.

Next portrait…

Melancholia – 2.5″ x 3.5″ – Watercolor on Paper

Available for Purchase here

My previous explorations with watercolors have tended to involve quite precise, controlled lines and shading, so I was eager to explore the more fluid and watery possibilities of the medium, in order to evoke a more emotional viewing sensation.  This portrait was fun (despite the sadness of her face!) and I look forward to pursuing the more ethereal and emotive qualities of watercolors even further.

This is an ACEO portrait of a sad, female face, done in watercolors. The eyes were painted in a crisp, clear style, whilst the rest of the painting was done in a more watery, fluid style.  Sometimes it’s nice to create images that come purely from the imagination, without using a photo or solid object as a reference point.  It can be quite liberating.

What are ACEOs?

ACEO stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals”, and refer to artwork that is 2.5″ x 3.5″ – the size of playing cards or baseball cards. They are fun, tiny, collectible works of art!

Last portrait for the day…

Portrait for Mark – 5″ x 7″ Acrylic & Glitter on Paper

This painting is the one peeking behind the still life in this photo.  As I explain in the photo caption, I hate wasting paint, so I normally work on several paintings at once.  This painting was created in tandem with my Two Pink Cupcakes photorealist painting and my Summer Harvest abstract… three very different paintings created in the same time frame, using the same materials!  This portrait is quite fun (goofy even)and carefree.  As with the Mister painting above, I used a magazine photo as a reference point for this portrait.  However, I took some liberties with the proportions of his face, and gave him a bulging nose and really wide grin.  I also added some silver glitter nail polish to his eyes, for a bit of extra pizazz.  I decided not to sell this one.  Instead I’ll be giving it to my friend Mark.  I hope he doesn’t read this before it arrives!