Sunday 29 April 2012

The Portrait Journey

The eyes shown in this post are from new collection of watercolour portraits I've been working on.

The eyes are almost always the first part I paint in any portrait. They are the soul of each person and the life of a painting, if I don't capture the feelings behind them, then I don't carry on with the painting, I start a fresh.


Whilst working on this new collection I knew I needed to push myself to achieve that extra something i'm always looking for each time I pick up my brush. This is part of the inspiration that keeps me painting.


As artists we need to grow continuously and we can only do this by experimenting and practice. It doesn't always result in a beautifully executed paintings, but that's the way we learn, and it all becomes part of the journey. No painting is ever a waste of time, quite the opposite, as we often learn more from our so called mistakes.  


For a long while I painted a variety of subjects, very often avoiding portraits, with an impression they were much to difficult for me, although I tried the occasional sketch from time to time.  It was mainly after the birth of my first  grandchild that I had the real desire to paint them. As artists we often change direction on our journey, enjoying various subjects along the way. Somewhere along that road most of us get drawn to a particular subject, one we really enjoy painting more than any other, one we feel more passionate about and become more inspired by, for me that subject is portraits.


As I have never had any formal training and am entirely self taught when it comes to portraits, it really has been down to lots of practice and experimenting, and most importantly the desire to paint them. I have however watched the endless free videos on Youtube that are so generously given by artists of all levels and will always be grateful for those who share them.

I would say the biggest help to me has been the studying of features done mostly by pencil artists.I can't stress enough how drawing skills comes in to play.  Becoming more comfortable with the understanding of a feature such as the eyes, along with being able to draw them reasonably well each time, leaves your mind free to paint and bring them to life. 


Practice painting just the features on scrap paper until you become more familiar with them, you'll be surprised the benefit of this when it comes to painting a complete portrait. Draw daily, even 5 min sketches and doodles, it all helps. I know I have a long way to go still and probably always will, but whenever possible I practice daily, even if only a quick sketch, and I can't tell you how much this has helped me. ....

I've written this partly as i've been asked many times how I got started in portraits, along with hearing so many other artists say, as I once did, how scared they were to attempt them and how difficult they are. They are no different to any other subject. All you need is the desire to paint them along with the discipline to practice. I don't think there is any subject more rewarding than this to paint.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

I really love this post! I like what you said about continually working to improve by experimenting and stretching one's wings, so to speak. And what you said about drawing skills being so important! BUT... what you do with your portraits is still beyond my grasp. How do you begin to incorporate colors other than the traditional skin tones? Your portraits have such emotion because of the colors you use in just the right places!

Stephie Butler said...

Thanks so much Katherine for leaving such a lovely comment. Most of this has come from purely from playing, and trust me at first there was a lot that didn't work. Like everyone else I too started with the normal skin tomes.I'll post something later in the week to try and explain how I got to this stage.

Joanna said...

Well said Stephie, practice is all. Not once a week, but every day!
You are fantastic with painting all subjects. :-))))

Joanna said...

Well said Stephie, practice is all.Not once a week, but every day!
You can paint every subject excellent. Through the years you developed your own fantastic style!!
:-))))

Stephie Butler said...

Joanna.Thank you....but you know I can't do landscapes, even though you try so hard to teach me lol...

Maria's Watercolor said...

Your eyes are remarkable, will be doing 5 minutes of eyes (not all human) daily, pencil and watercolor. These eyes of yours are so moving.

Studio at the Farm said...

This is a beautiful and inspiring post, Stephie. Thank you so very much!

Crystal Cook said...

This is a wonderful post Stephie. I so admire your work. You really do capture so much soul in your eyes. It's just beautiful. :)))

Cynthia Schelzig said...

What beautiful eyes,,,what a wonderful post. I too avoided faces for years as I thought they would be too difficult and just now started painting them and really love it. Your work is so inspiring. A beautiful blog.

Melissa Fischer said...

Very helpful post, Stephie! Thank you! Your portraits are so meaningful and inspiring and make me want to try painting portraits.

Ingrid Ormestad said...

Beautiful work Stephie, and a great post! I have never painted people, but like you, when I paint animals I start with the eyes. If I don't make a connection there is no point in continuing.

Stephie Butler said...

Thank you Maria. I does make such a difference...

Stephie Butler said...

It's my pleasure Kathryn, and than you for always showing your support....

Stephie Butler said...

Thanks crystal....I love your work so much too...

Stephie Butler said...

Thank you very much Cynthia... They really are no more difficult than any other subject, it really comes down to the desire and passion to want to paint them......

Stephie Butler said...

Melissa...Thank you, and you should do portraits, you have such a gentleness in your work ..

Stephie Butler said...

Thank you so much Ingrid.. I think the same with any living being with a soul, you need to capture that...

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your site - I hope you don't mind, I posted a link to this article on my blog (portraitpassion.blogspot.com) - thanks for being such an inspiration! ~ Paula

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