Forging Ahead: Portraits

Atchison Gothic, Acrylic on canvas

Doing portraits is a great exercise, good practice--an excellent way to stay artistically nimble. And copying a famous artist's work (or their style) is a great way to get inside the mind of that artist. Each brush stroke, each color choice, reveals something intimate and wonderful about the artist.

Buddha Babe, Watercolor and acrylic on paper

My personal opinion on copying another's work, though, is this: If I'm going to copy something, I want it to be an "obvious forgery." I don't want to want to pass the work off as completely my own. That wouldn't be fair or ethical.

Shannon With a Pearl Earring, Acrylic on paper

Hence, one of my favorite things to do--to stay in good practice and to learn about an artist I'm fond of--is to copy a painting (or heavily borrow from a particular style) and put someone I know into it as its main subject.

Multiple Self Portrait, Oil on board

These final three paintings are inspired by the work of Gustav Klimt. The thing that most appeals to me about his work is the way that he hides his subjects, surrounds them, in a blanket of strongly linear and colorful patterns. Often, only their faces and hands are obvious, and he makes the viewer work a little bit to find the outline of the subject's body.

Erica, Watercolor on paper

Art that requires some work--whether a bit of introspection, inquiry, or figuring out an optical illusion or hidden picture--really appeals to my senses. It engages the viewer; forces them to stay a little bit longer, and to become an extension of the art through their personal interaction.

Shannon, Watercolor on paper