All you need to know about reverse painting techniques
December 28, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
Current information about portrait from photos is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this report includes the latest portrait from photos information available.
Glass painting
The concept of reverse painting typically uses glass as the surface. If you are trying to create portraits from photos, then this most unusual art form will produce splendid effects and contrasts. You could create stunning replicas of real life people around you – except that now they are on glass instead of the traditional fabric!
How does it work?
Typically the portrait artist begins with creating a tracing or outline of the subject to be painted. This is done on the underside or the coarser side of the glass (the non-shiny part). This is done so that when the painting is completed the real side of the painting will be properly visible from the smooth glass surface. Many artists typically use a thicker version of glass that tends to provide more depth and dramatic effect to their works.
From the back to the front
The technique of reverse painting typically uses strokes worked from back to the front. Thus the angle from which you ultimately view the painting will be dramatically opposite to what you view from the regular side. Many famous artists have recreated stunning replicas of portrait from photos using this method.
I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.
Small to big
One of the first tenets of reverse painting suggests that the artist use smaller sizes of glass while starting out. This way one can observe size, proportion and aspect ratios in a much better manner. This is more critical in the case of recreating a portrait from photo. Make sure to start by cleaning the glass surface properly before you start as dust sediments can hamper the look and finish of the portrait from photo.
Outlining technique
It is always best to use a liquid lining paint material which provides the best effect in a portrait from photo. This will ensure the paint sticks to the surface of the glass properly.
So now you know a little bit about portrait from photos. Even if you don’t know everything, you’ve done something worthwhile: you’ve expanded your knowledge.
The Portrait of the Late Colonel Ilan Ramon – the Columbia Tragedy
December 27, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
The Famous Israeli Painter Artist Michael Khundiashvili,had dedicated his new painting “The Columbia Tragedy”
to The Columbia Tragedy.
The crash of the shuttle “Columbia” on 01.02.2003 and the death of the Israel’s first astronaut Colonel Ilan Ramon with the shuttle staff, was a shock for the whole world and for the painter Michael Khundiashvili as well. At his new painting which he had dedicated to this tragedy, he commemorated the late Ilan Ramon on the background of the whole galaxy.
The painter had used the falling stars to symbolize the death of the stuff on the shuttle, the candle that signifies the memory and the scroll of the Torah coming out from the Earth rushing to the sky symbolizing the Ten Commandments which is the basic of the existence of the world, and always guides us, lighting up our way.
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About Steven Claydon’s Paintings and Solo Exhibitions
December 27, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
Steven Claydon was born on 1969 Lives and works in London. Steven Claydon appropriates the styles and figures of history to draw provocative connotations between contemporary social concerns and obsolete ideologies. Primarily interested in the concept of veneration – both in the contexts in which past events are documented through modern museology, and in the physical forms by which they have been represented – Claydon exhumes the ‘veritas’ of artifacts, undermining their value and truth through his witty and complex material juxtapositions.
Claydon’s The Author of Mishap (Them) takes its inspiration from J.G. Frazer’s The Golden Bough, an early 20th century dissertation on magic and ritual that was widely denounced for its questionable methodology – a comparative anthropology by ‘genre’ rather than linear science. Mirroring Frazer’s logic, Claydon’s portrait is a composite of three heroic busts of political figures from this time, each embodying radically opposing beliefs. Through this literal hybrid, Claydon incites the current revivals of genetic engineering and post-modern eclecticism as plausible validation of Frazer’s theories.
Substituting the traditional hallowed material of bronze for cast copper powder and resin, Claydon defiles his subject’s monumentality; the aged patina has been created through urinating on the object, both an act of defamation and a reference to Warhol’s egalitarian pop. Set atop a burlap coated plinth reminiscent of 1950s gallery wall coverings, Claydon reinforces his sculpture’s historical stature while belying its association with outdated fashion. The peacock feather operates primarily as a formal device, adding a surreal and dilettantish air to the impoverished authoritarian relic.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006
• Galerie Kamm, Berlin
• Rings of Saturn, Tate Modern, London
• Dereconstruction, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, curated by Matthew Higgs
• Statements, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
• Writing the Strobe, Curated by Andrew Hunt, Dicksmith Gallery, London
2005
• Time Lines, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westphalen, Düsseldorf
• Flies Around the Fury Flotsam, Curators Space, London
• Odiseado Tra Tempo, Peter Kilchmann Galerie, Zurich, curated by Charlotte Mailler
• Jack too Jack, live performance, Portikus, Frankfurt
• Paris – Londres: Le Voyage Interieur, Espace Electra, Paris, curated by Alex Farquharson
• Jack too Jack, live performance, Inverleith House, Edinburgh
• Even a Stopped Clock Tells the Right Time Twice a Day, ICA London
• Jack too Jack, live performance, Rio Cinema, London
• Post no Bills, White Columns, New York
• Clouds of Witness, Islington Town Hall, London
• From Earth, film, Light Box, Tate Britain, London
• Remixed Water, live performance, Manchester.
2004
• Shades of Destructors, live performance, Prince Charles Theatre, London.
• Shades of Destructors, live performance, Gavin Brown Enterprise, New York.
• Shades of Destructors, live performance, Humanist society, London.
• Live web-cast of sculpture at Show studio
• The Last Supper, Group show, Hoxton Distillery
• Remixed Water, remix collaboration with Lawrence Wiener and Ned Sublet
• In The Gathering Darkness, contribution with Neil Chapman for ‘The Poster The Show 1,2,3…’, group exhibition Hoxton Distillery London
2003
• R.I.P. photographic contribution with Neil Chapman for the Box of the Uncanny, a multiple produced by Christine Walter, Munich.
• Strange Greeny from The Sum of the Earth, video screening at Kunstwerk, Berlin
• The Sum of the Earth, exhibition of sculpture, installation, video and sound, with Neil Chapman, Hoxton Distillery, London E8
2002
• group exhibition Hoxton Distillery London
2001
• Stepped Series In Response To A Nothing, contribution with Neil Chapman, group exhibition, The
• Poster, The Show, The Hoxton Distillery London
• It Grows Away, collaboration with Neil Chapman, The Hoxton Distillery London
• Loud Like Nature, ADD N TO (X), installation and video, La Box, Borges, France
2000
• Five works in lieu of a particle accelerator, installation with Neil Chapman, Greengrassi, London
1999
• The Opposite of a Good Idea, performance with Neil Chapman, Inventory, Volume 3, issue 2, launch, Guy’s Hospital London
• ADDING N TO (X), installation and performance, February and April, Villa Noailles, Hyeres, France
1998
• ADD N TO (X) Dinner Music for Electronic Quartet, ICA London
• Live performance of group composition to the film, Paper Moon, in collaboration with Barry Adamson, Nick Cave and Pansonic, Royal Festival Hall, London.
1997
• City Of Gold, Mister Chicks, Peripheral Visionary, Group Show, Eindhoven, Curated by Colin and
• Lowe and Roddy Thompson, Holland, May.
Conclusions:
Steven Claydon appropriates the styles and figures of history to draw provocative connotations between contemporary social concerns and obsolete ideologies.
What to Do Next…
If you want any information about Steven Claydon or looking for his paintings please visit us on http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/steven_claydon.htm
A look at famous paintings of George Washington – Part 1
December 27, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
There are three paintings that stand out and are the most popular of George Washington. We all know them and have seen them multiple times either in museums or hanging in the White House. One is even seen every day on the back of our dollar bills. The most famous portraitist for his time is Gilbert Stuart who painted many portraits of George Washington and the next five Presidents of the United States.
The first painting that is probably the best known and also on our dollar bills is the Athenaeum. This is a simple painted of only George Washington’s face. Stuart never officially finished the original but copied it multiple times. He finished the copies and eventually it became known as the Pennington since one of the first owner’s of the painting was named Pennington. The controlled lighting emphasizing and defining Washington’s face and hair made it unique. The face was well centered on the canvas which made it difficult to ignore some of the bold colors and the texture added to the cheeks and nose.
A full length portrait of Washington painted by Stuart is known as the Lansdowne Portrait since it was a gift of the Marquis of Lansdowne. He was an English supporter of the American Independence. This painting was made in 1796 and hangs today in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. It resembles symbolism, artistry, and biographical. The symbolism is the way the objects are interpreted in the portrait. The biography explores the historical events by what was happening in the portrait and the artistry explores the history of the artist and his technique of painting.
Washington Crossing the Delaware was painted in 1851 by Emanuel Leutze. This painting shows a historical happening when Washington crossed the Delaware with several other men willing to fight during the American Revolutionary War. It was a surprise attack in the Battle of Trenton. Today it is displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2004. Leutze was an American-German.
All of these paintings chronicle events that happened in American history. They are painted with unique styles. They used oils that can be harder to work with at times and they tend to dry quicker which gives evidence of layers of paint especially if a mistake was made. Many times if there is a little mistake it is no big deal but making a big mistake you may have to start all over since covering it up will be hard or nearly impossible. Therefore, particularly Gilbert Stuart was a great painter if he was able to do such detailed portraits and to do so many in a short amount of time. Oil portraits are extremely difficult. These painters deserved the money they earned which was about a $100 a portrait but for that time it was a little more than $4,000 now.
View Kai Althoff Artist Exhibitions and paintings
December 26, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
Kai Althoff was born on 1966 in Cologne, Germany, Currently lives and works in Cologne. Through painting, Kai Althoff engages with the spiritualism of masculine identity as a metaphor for reconciliation with German history. Often articulated with a homoerotic subtext, Althoff portrays the male domain as psychologically complex, where power politics of violence, sensuality, vulnerability and enticement are played out against backdrops of war, religion and pub-land. Borrowing stylistically from art history, Kai Althoff’s work possesses a timeless quality, where narratives are suggested with confessional intimacy. Rendered with exquisite sensitivity, Althoff uses beauty to seduce the viewer, encouraging moral complicity.
Kai Althoff’s paintings of Prussian soldiers flirt with a homoerotic subtext. His decorated brotherhood thinly veils their carnal motives under the guise of authority. He paints his violence with a sensual tenderness, rendered in the creaminess of folk tale fantasy.Kai Althoff’s soldiers are drawn with delicate stylised dandyism. Conveyed with refined nobility, debauchery and humanity become indistinguishable; cruelty is portrayed with an acute tenderness. Flattened to an almost decorative motif, Althoff’s scene reads like theatre. Reminiscent of Georg Grosz’s depictions of Berlin’s WW1 underworld, deplorable action is staged for consensual pleasure, a chic poster glamorising the (un)desirable.
In winter, Kai Althoff uses a variety of media to add an unexpected quality to his graphic composition. Approaching the painting itself as collage, Althoff flaunts difference of style in each separate element to create tension and possible narratives within the unified whole.
Dark dream-like scenes adopt a painterly quality of reverence: a crouching figure is painted over crumpled aluminium foil, creating both a geological texture and reference to gilded religious icons. Sheltered like a grotto by a hard-edged militaristic design, punctuated by photographic images of stylised masculinity, they feed the painting with spirituality. Layers of ephemeral hues and high-gloss varnish create a transcendental illusiveness, perpetually flitting between gravitas and disco chic.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2004
• Kai Althoff: Kai Kein Respekt (Kai No Respect) Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; ICA, Boston
2003
• Vom Monte Scherbelino Sehen Diözesanmuseum, Freising
2002
• Kai Althoff (with Armin Krämer) Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany
2001
• Impulse Anton Kern Gallery, New York; Galerie Neu, Berlin
• Aus Dir Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne
2000
• Stigmata aus Grossmanssucht Galerie Ascan Crone, Hamburg
• Hau ab, Du Scheusal Galerie Neu, Berlin
1999
• Galerie Hoffmann & Senn, Vienna
• Galerie Christian Nagel, Cologne
1998
• Reflux Lux Galerie Neu, Berlin
• Bezirk der Widerrede Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne
1997
• Hilfen und Recht der äußeren Wand (an mich) Anton Kern Gallery, New York
• In Search of Eulenkippstadt Robert Prime Gallery, London
• Heetz, Nowak, Rehberger Museum of Contemporary Art, São Paulo
1996
• Hakelhug Galerie Christian Nagel, Cologne
1995
• Hast Du Heute Zeit – Ich Aber Nicht Künstlerhaus, Stuttgart
• Modern wird lahmgelegt Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne
Conclusions:
Kai Althoff’s paintings almost appear to be from another time, with references ranging from avant-garde collage to fairytale illustration. His use of modern materials such as resin, tape and tinfoil, lend a distinctive contemporary feel to his work.Kai Althoff’s portrait is rendered with rudimentary simplicity: shape, tone and colour create a totality of exquisite presence.
What to Do Next…
If you want any information about Kai Althoff or looking for his paintings please visit us on http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/kai_althoff.htm
Gustav Klimt Most Expensive Painting
December 26, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
He was big in the ’60s, when his erotic imagery and eye-bedazzling surfaces struck a chord with the free-love and psychedelic-inspired counterculture. Then, the picture on the dormitory wall would have been Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss.”
As the ’60s waned, Klimt did too. His art rejoined the side galleries of modernism, eclipsed by the stars of the French and New York schools. The Viennese modernists — Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oscar Kokoschka and others — were too exotic for popular consumption, like hothouse orchids bred for connoisseurs.
That is about to change. With the exchange of an extraordinary sum, Klimt has been catapulted to the top of the heap, a sudden must-see on the New York art circuit. His “Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” a shimmering, gold-flecked portrait of a Viennese aristocrat (and Klimt’s reputed lover), went on view at the few galleries.
Cosmetics magnate Ronald Lauder, founder of the five-year-old museum, paid $135 million, making it the most expensive oil painting ever purchased. No other artist — not Van Gogh, nor Picasso, nor Rubens — can match that. The prior top money-getter was Picasso’s “Boy With a Pipe,” which sold for $104.1 million in 2004.
While the market is far from a perfect measure of artistic quality (inflation drives up prices, and most of the world’s museum-owned masterpieces never come up for sale), huge crowds are expected at the usually quiet Neue Galerie this weekend. And most will not be disappointed. This really is a masterpiece.
In 1903 the artist visited Ravenna, in Italy, where he was struck by the sixth-century Byzantine mosaic interior of the basilica of San Vitale. The glinting gold glass tiles embedded with precious and semi-precious gems must have seemed like a preview of heaven’s glory to the parishioners. The Klimt portraits influenced by San Vitale look more like previews of the glories of sex. Among these, the most famous, since her restitution, is “Adele Bloch-Bauer I”. The sitter’s face emerges from a gorgeous, swirling, gold-painted mosaic. She is both a beauty and a seductress. But in a photograph of her taken three years later, Mrs Bloch-Bauer seems neither beautiful nor sexy. Maybe the affair, if there was one, was over by then; it certainly must have been by 1912 when Klimt painted “Adele Bloch-Bauer II” which packs none of the first portrait’s wallop.
The History of Tees for Dogs
December 25, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
I wasn’t sure that dog clothes actually had a history to them until I started researching the topic and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was more information than I expected. The History of dog clothes starts around 520 B.C when medieval men going to battle would dress their horses and war dogs in garments to protect the animals skin in the time of war. This is what led to the manufacturing of dog apparel and modern day clothing for dogs. Today we carry on the tradition of using apparel to protect our working dogs and pets.
What would happen to Police K9’s who didn’t wear their bullet proof vests? Or our beloved Service Dogs who guide the blind and wear their vests as helpful signs to let the public know they are doing their job?
Some of our small dogs and pets of today need an extra layer in the cold winter months. For example: The Chinese Crested a Hairless Dog Breed, appreciates the warmth and comfort of modern dog apparel. There are many forms of dog clothes including Doggy Raincoats, Knitted Sweaters, Costumes for Holidays, Comfortable Harnesses for dogs who can’t wear collars and soft Cotton Dog T-shirts for any breed to either amuse their owners and guests with their funny designs or warn the public not to feed a working therapy dog.
In owning a Therapy Dog, I have discovered that patients in hospitals and nursing home residents all seem to light up with joy when my dog is either wearing a silly costume or wearing a funny hat. Hats have become a popular accessory to dog clothes and are used in therapy work to lift the spirit of the patient. After all, what is the purpose of therapy work if you can’t make a difference in someone’s life and change their mood to help them heal!
For whatever reason you dress your dog, dog clothes started out with a purpose and have a long tradition of protecting the canine from harm. So don’t feel silly if you have a seperate closet of doggie apparel for your pooch. It is a necessary tradition!
Christian portrait: Paintings of Jesus – strengthening faith
December 24, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
Imagine the next time you join a discussion about paintings of Jesus. When you start sharing the fascinating facts below about paintings of Jesus , your friends will be absolutely amazed.
Most of this information comes straight from the paintings of Jesus pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.
During christening
If your child is going to be christened a few days from now, why not give something special on this occasion? Try giving paintings of Jesus to bring in added spirituality and the blessings of the Lord on this most wonderful occasion. With such oil paintings you can create an ambience of warmth and Godliness in the whole atmosphere. You could have pictures of angels or of Jesus. Such paintings make for an excellent Christening gift because they bring in so much warmth and happiness around.
Infuse happiness
Christmas is all about loving and sharing. What better way to show you care than by giviing paintings of Jesus this festive season? Infuse happiness and spiritual peace in your family by gifting them oil paintings of Jesus Christ. This way the blessings of the Lord will always be with your family throughout the year. Such a Christmas gift is always welcome and adds great cheer and happiness around. Plus it also helps bring out the goodness in everybody – which is what Christmas is all about.
Celebrate your Christianity
Being a Christian is much more than just having faith. It’s in fact a way of life. Celebrate this fact by giviing paintings of Jesus to your family and loved ones. You can reinforce and strengthen each other’s faith all over again with these spectacular oil paintings. Plus, this is a Christian gift which truly celebrates your faith. It prompts you to do good things for others around, which is always good for moral uplifting. Celebrate your faith in goodness with these paintings.
Now you can understand why there’s a growing interest in paintings of Jesus. When people start looking for more information about paintings of Jesus, you’ll be in a position to meet their needs.
De Lempicka Oil Paintings Always In Vogue
December 24, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
“It can be argued that the Art Deco spirit expressed itself more naturally through portraiture than through any other kind of painting. The quintessential Art Deco portraitist is undoubtedly Tamara de Lempicka. Fashionable society of the 1920s and 30s is now perceived very largely through her eyes” — Edward Lucie-Smith
Tamara de Lempicka is considered the most famous painter of the art deco period.
De Lempicka was born in Poland and moved to Russia where she lived until the Russian Revolution. She fled to Paris. There she enrolled at the Academie de la Grand Chaumiere and studied art privately.
De Lempicka had a natural talent; by 1923 she was showing her work at major salons. She developed a distinctive and bold style, referred to as “soft cubism”, but is most known as Art Deco – a cool modern movement of the roaring 20’s.
For her first major show, in Milan in 1925, she painted 28 works. She was soon the most fashionable portrait painter of her generation, painting duchesses and dukes.
She acquired a patron, the Baron Raoul Kuffner, who bought dozens of her paintings, and commissioned her to paint his mistress. De Lempicka finished the portrait, and then took the mistress’ place in the Baron’s life.
In the summer of 1939 she and the Baron went on vacation in the United States and eventually relocated to New York; she continued to paint in her trademark style – Art Deco though she expanded her subject matter, painting Still Lifes, and even some Abstracts.
Eventually she adopted a new style, using palette knife instead of brushes. Her heart was broken as her new style was not well received. She then decided to never show her work again, and stopped painting altogether.
Tamara de Lempicka died in her sleep in Mexico, 1980. She lived a long and eventful life. Before she died a new generation discovered her art and greeted it with enthusiasm. At the time of her death, her early Art Deco paintings were being shown and purchased once again. A play about her life was produced in Los Angeles. Many movie stars started collecting her works including Jack Nicholson and Madonna. Madonna has also immortalized De Lempicka in her music videos for “Express Yourself” and “Vogue”.
Portrait painting tips – Part 2
December 21, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Portraits
These are a few, very important tips when painting a portrait.
1. Firstly you need to paint the background, you may work into it later, however I believe that you must have something there to begin with.
2. Once you have your background sorted. You need to paint or draw in the proportions of the person. The features being in the correct place will make or break your end product.
3. Choosing the correct shades for the skin color can be difficult, if you make a mistake sometimes changing the color of the clothing or hair could make all the difference.
4. Remember to focus on the shadows and lines of the features that you are painting.
5. Keep painting! It’s amazing how people give up too early in the portrait process.
6. Paint the main color in and blend back into your work. Do not be afraid of a dry brush for a different effect or using a lot of paint.
7. Take time to stand back and look at your portrait from a distance, sometimes you have the correct effect but are too close up to see it.
8. Join a painting group for some constructive criticism. You never know, they may have some good ideas or may just make a comment that changes your perspective. Its also fun to paint in a group.
9. If you are having someone sit for you take a photo for comparison later.
10. Have faith in yourself and no matter what the critics say if you are happy with the end product then that is all that matters. Use your right for artistic license to change colors and enjoy the portrait painting experience.