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People portraits

Not just a likeness – Portraits with life!

Scroll down to see portraits I have created for people.

I have created more  portraits of children  but they were memorial portraits that my clients  preferred I didn’t show on my website.

Click on each photo to see a larger version, see sizes, if available a photo of the portrait framed  and other information.

A portrait of a man with his faithful dog

A fun portrait of a mother and daughter painted from a selfie photograph

A portrait of a woman painted from a photo

An Oil portrait of a young lady
An Oil portrait of a young child
Portrait of a lady

small alex

Portrait of a man
Portrait of a man
A portrait of a young boy and his dog

a colourful portrait of a woman

Oil portrait of a girl
Self Portrait 2012
Portrait of a lady painted from life

An Oil portrait of Cec Shevels retired CEO of the Samaritans

A selfie of 2 children immortalised in an Oil painting

https://www.suelinton.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/inger-with-torso-4.jpg

An oil portrait of a man sailing his yacht

500Brian with his portrait

Cec Shevels with the portrait I created of him

An oil portrait of a man painted from a photo

I regularly paint from a model. Painting from life rather than from a photo is the best way to practise using colour and learn about the human form.Our eyes can see many colours that a camera can’t see and also see into the dark areas of a figure.The experience I gain from these life sittings enables me to use that knowledge when I paint from photographs and inject life and extra believable colour into each portrait to make them really realistic.

 You can tell artists that haven’t learnt this knowledge or have never painted from life because their portraits will be stiff , cut out , with dark shadows and very light light areas. The colours will often be very bland and boring. I can paint from a photo but inject colour into the portrait . People without this experience just copy the photo resulting in a bland 2D portrait..

 The sessions are only 2.30hrs long so there isn’t enough time to get a really finished portrait. It’s here I experiment with colour . I can then tone it down a little if required in my commissioned portraits or let loose and create you  a colourful portrait!

Here are some of the 2.30hr unfinished practise portraits I create in these sessions.

I often capture an essence in these sittings because I am experiencing the model in front of me and gaining glimpses of their personality which comes out in the portrait.

 It’s not possible to have a smiling pose from a live sitting as the model can’t hold a smile for that long.That’s why most of these portraits are a fairly simple pose- even if the model starts out smiling and animated they usually almost fall asleep by the end!

 We also like to use dramatic side lighting or other spotlighting which makes for an interesting painting but doesn’t usually flatter the model!

As the paintings are only for our use and practise this doesn’t matter. With a commissioned portrait I usually try and use a photo with flattering lighting.

An unfinished Oil practise portrait from a model where I play with colour

Alana- a 2.30hr practise portrait from a model. I decided i’d take it easy this session and just complete the painting in the underpainting colour.

Connor – this is how the portrait was at the end of the 2.30hr practise session

1- Bridgette at the blue underpainting stage. I get a likeness with blue acrylic and then come back over with Oil paint in colour. This stage usually takes about 1.30hrs.

Here is Bridgette once I have gone back with Oil colour. She is still unfinished. 2.30hrs isn’t enough time to complete her. I’m happy that I’ve caught something of her personality.

Kath – Sometimes I run out of time or like the blue version so much I stop at that stage. Here I decided to stop at this stage.

Sometimes we have a model who dresses with character , flattering lighting and even a touch of a smile! It makes such a difference.

Maggie – I’ve finished this one a little more but wanted it to remain more contemporary and fresh.

A practise portrait of a man

One of the 2.30hr practise portraits finished off a little more

the early blue underpainted stages of my practise portrait- Chelsea in blue

An unfinished practise portrait of a lady
A colourful contemporary but realistic portrait of a bearded man
A practise portrait of a man
A 2.30hr unfinished practise portrait from a model in a colourful contemporary style

A practise portrait of a man

Larry a 2.30hr practise portrait from a model

A few testimonials

An Oil portrait of a a lady

‘Isobel’
40 x 50cms image size
Framed Oil

” It’s all that I was after and more!

It conveys the soft loving woman that is Isobel which is exactly what I wanted. It will be a treasured heirloom.”

Neville

An Oil portrait of a man

Ray
20 x 30 cm
Oil on gallery wrap canvas

‘It’s amazing!”

Ray

An Oil portrait of a young child

Hector
30 x 40cms image size
Unframed Oil

‘You are such a talented painter! We admired the portrait of our grandson, Hector, it’s just like looking at a photo – only with much more life – the glimpse in his eyes is so perfect! ‘

Click here to learn more

” That’s me!!..”

Anne Marie - Denmark