There are three attributes to a successful portrait:
Good likeness of the sitter
Original and personal interpretation by the artist
And finally and most importantly, the painting has to work as a good painting, irrespective of whether or not the viewer knows the subject.
Tonight we had a model for one long pose. I did a careful drawing and started washing in colour and then it was time for our pause. Sipping a cup of tea, a newspaper clipping of a Modigliani hanging on the wall caught my eye.
The wonderful simplicity inspired me to scrub off the paint and quickly sketch in this painting.
2 comments:
Not sure Picasso bothered about physical likenesses so is that really one of the essences of portraits?
Maybe he was an exception.
I love what you did, the simple lines but the whole captures the peacefulness of the sitter.
The model was Sheryl St.Germain, a poet and writer spending her sabbatical in my winter cottage. She has bought the portrait, saying she was pleased by the quietness that comes across. She says that it's a place she has been trying to get to.
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