Portraits

For some years one of my primary genres in painting was portraits. Most of the works from those days were head and shoulders views though I did a few half-length works too. In the supposed hierarchy of painting genres, portraits are one rung from the top, after history painting, although the latter has fallen far out of favor. For that matter, so have personal portraits. The reasons are complicated but in part photography has clearly supplanted much. And for that matter, we're a less formal people than our ancestors seem to have been. 

Regardless, portraits remain a challenging and engaging task. Achieving a serviceable likeness is sometimes the best an artist can hope for, but the very best manage to convey expressions, moods, and even subtle cues of character. It's said, for example, that when Velazquez' portrait of him was shown to Pope Innocent X he cried, "Take it away! It's too real!" Presumably he felt the painter had seen something of his true and rather vicious character. 

Diego Velazquez, "Pope Innocent X," 1640

I don't claim equality with any of the masters, but you can judge these few portraits of mine for yourself.

"Linda," oil on canvas, 2007, private collection

"Brad," oil on canvas, 2009

"David," oil on canvas, 2007, private collection

"Bill," oil on canvas, 2010, collection of the painter