Artist's blog by contemporary portrait painter Peter D'Alessandri

16/11/202319/02/2024

Why Commission a Portrait Painting

Why do people have their portrait painted?

This is a question I often ask myself. Commissioning a portrait is not a spontaneous decision. It requires an investment of time and money. It’s not just about recording a likeness, otherwise a photo will do. So why choose to commission an artist to paint your portrait? And is there a serious role for portrait painting in the modern world?

portrait of Egyptian artist Tarique M — Egyptian artist Tarique M with my portrait of him, standing in front of one of his landscape paintings

Fear of Death

I have heard it said that portraiture begins with a fear of death – an anxiety about impermanence.
When I lost my late partner to illness, I turned to painting to somehow fix, make real, my fading memory of her. I became acutely aware that with every passing day I had to think harder to recall her smile. I felt compelled to paint her a number of times after her death, I suppose in an attempt to preserve my relationship.
I have countless photos of my late partner, but I find none of them as evocative as my paintings of her.

portrait painting of artist's late partner veronica — Veronica

Status

In the past a portrait was a symbol of wealth and status. But that was mainly down to the cost. Nowadays art materials cost a fraction of what they did, and artists are similarly no longer a scarce resource. For that reason a painted portrait won’t afford you the status that it would have in the past, so that’s no longer a reason to commission one.
However, the good news is that commissioning a portrait is more affordable today than it has ever been.

How Much Does a Portrait Painting Cost?

It’s not just a moment in time

A painted portrait can be so much more than just a snapshot of the sitter – it is a record of the sitting and the entire time spent posing for the artist. It can also tell a story. It can allude to their past, and even suggest the future.
I am sometimes asked to paint a portrait to commemorate a special moment in a relationship. It might be an anniversary or birthday, or even a celebration of surviving an illness. I like to think that the portraits I have painted are more than just records of my brief encounter with the sitter, but are evocations of special moments and memories.

“Portraiture stands apart from other genres of art as it marks the intersection between portrait, biography and history. They are more than artworks; when people look at portraits, they think they are encountering that person,”
Alison Smith, chief curator National Portrait Gallery London.

The sitting and the importance of drawing

I find drawing is an essential step in the process of producing a portrait. Even when asked to work from photos, I will never skip the preparatory drawing stage. The act of drawing, of closely observing the subject for two or three hours, reveals qualities and attributes that I would not have noticed otherwise. This close observation enhances my understanding and connection with the subject, which I believe leads to a more intimate and informed representation of the sitter.

“Drawing takes time. A line has time in it.”
David Hockney

The Process

What distinguishes portrait painting from photography is the extended process required to produce a painting. I will have to go through the same steps that a portrait photographer will go through (choosing pose, attire, lighting, location) but that will only be the very first step in a longer and sometimes arduous journey.
I paint in oil paint. It can be a challenging medium, what with the fumes and long drying time, but it is so versatile and can produce sublime results. I am constantly learning new methods and techniques. I did once dabble with digital art. It’s just not the same. I soon saw that no computer algorithm can recreate the wonderful unpredictability of oil paint. The same things that are so frustrating about this medium are also it’s greatest qualities. When you load a bristle brush with a lump of oil paint and run it along the coarse surface of the canvas, you can’t predict exactly how it will turn out. It will often disappoint, but sometimes the simplest brushstroke can amaze. When you buy a painting, you are buying the product of that struggle between artist and medium.

Is Portrait Painting still relevant?

So those are some of my thoughts on why commissioning a portrait painting is still relevant in this day and age. In the modern world where all the talk is about NFTs and AI, there is a reassuring beauty and appeal about a traditionally painted portrait. It is so much more than just a likeness rendered on canvas. It is the product of a long process. It’s a journey that starts with the subject sitting down in front of the artist.

Available for Commissions

You can find more information here: How to Commission a Portrait
I have a price guide here: How Much Does a Portrait Cost?

If you’re interested in commissioning a portrait, or would just like more information, please do get in touch. I’m happy to arrange a phone or video call, or a studio visit if convenient. First please email via address on my Contact Page.

I have written a few case studies of previous commissions. They show you some of the decisions that had to be made in commissioning a portrait:
Portrait Case Studies

selection of portrait paintings from the artist's studio — selection of portraits in my studio

Further information about the relevance of portraiture:

Why do Painted Portraits Still Matter? from a lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, London National Portrait Gallery, given at the Canberra National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

Sotheby’s Talks: Facing Now: Why Portraits Still Matter with Simon Schama, Eleanor Nairne, and Helena Newman

03/10/202319/02/2024

Nude Art

So, why do I paint nudes?

Why do I feature nude figures in so many of my paintings, from my Relationships Series to the recent Disasters of War? It would certainly be easier to market my artwork if I just painted landscapes: no more polite rejections from venues; no shadowbans from Instagram. But no subject interests me quite as much as the human figure.
I have always been fascinated with depictions of the human form in art. Maybe it started with my early love of comics, and the idealised perfection of superhuman figures cavorting across their pages. It might have been when I first set eyes on Tintoretto’s or Titian’s glorious mythological masterpieces in the National Gallery. It was a fascination cemented by my introduction to life drawing at art school.

Sexuality

The depiction of the nude is a complicated subject in the 21st Century. It would be naive to suggest we can continue to paint the nude figure as it has always been painted. Many of the naked figures that now adorn the walls of our galleries were originally produced as thinly veiled titillation for their wealthy owners. I have started to question my own motivations for painting certain figures nude. When I work on paintings about the “male gaze” I cannot ignore the fact that, as a man, I might well have the same predilections that I happily mock in other people.

The Nude in Modern Art

Edouard ManetOlympia 1863, possibly the first modern nude in art — Olympia by Edouard Manet, painted 1863

I was taught at art school that Manet’s Olympia (shown above) was one of the first modern nudes in art, and it is probably the single strongest influence on my artistic development. With no pretence of being an otherworldly goddess, this was a contemporary naked woman staring right back at the viewer. It is a naked portrait.
Manet was probably prepared for the outrage it caused, having provoked a similar scandal with his “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”. I read an interesting article about that painting and the controversy it caused on Artsy.net
When looking at the nude throughout the history of western art, you have to consider that the perception of the naked body in art depends on when and where the viewer was from. The nude becomes more like a dynamic idea, and the forces that alter our perception of the nude are changing all the time. In my short career as an artist I have had to reassess my approach to the subject a couple of times.

Artists will always push boundaries

entrance to Marina Abramović exhibition, where visitors have to squeeze between two naked figures — Photo: Royal Academy of Arts/David Parry

Just as Manet created a stir in the Salon, artist Marina Abramović recently caused some discomfort amongst visitors to her Royal Academy exhibition. by making them squeeze between two nude models to enter it (as in the photo above). It’s an interesting idea – remove the option for the viewer to remain a detached observer; force them to confront the nakedness of the models’ bodies. In news coverage of this long awaited retrospective, this unusual entrance has unfortunately become the headline: “Visitors invited to squeeze through naked models”
In a world awash with pornographic images on the internet, I wonder what boundaries artists have left to push in visual art. Good art should challenge us, and should test our sensibilities. But gratuitous nudity can be tiresome, and it is something I try to be alert to in my own work.

Relationships Series

detail from painting of nude man and woman sat on bed — Detail from Relationships Series painting

My professional art practice started with my Relationships Series paintings, where I explored the relationship between two figures within a composition in both a spatial and an emotional sense (examples shown above and below). This series began as an honest portrayal of my own relationship with my partner and developed into a broader examination of relationships in general.

I became aware that the interpretation of most viewers was overwhelmingly sexual, which wasn’t really my intention. Although as the artist I don’t have much control over how the viewer will interpret my work (some people will always associate nudity with sex), it did give me pause for thought about how I wanted to develop this project.
You can see paintings from this series here: Relationships Gallery

Objectification and #selflove

painting of nude woman — Exercise in Objectification

Over the years I have received various commissions for nude portraits. The main motivations for women were self-empowerment and body positivity, which I respect and admire.
I started a project called “Unnamed Portraits” which I thought might facilitate the same outcome for anyone who wanted to pose. With these artworks I would purposely crop the faces from the paintings, focusing instead on the naked body. I had a good response from potential models willing to pose for me . I suspect the readiness to pose stemmed from the same motivations as my nude portrait customers – essentially wanting to feel good about your body.

two naked portraits, unnamed portraits shown at the london ultra art exhibition — Unnamed Portraits on show at the London Ultra 2018

The risk with this project was that instead of enabling female empowerment, my paintings were instead reinforcing male objectification. It’s that thorny old problem of interpretation.
My biggest takeaway from this project was that I missed painting the model’s face. I have always considered my nude paintings as an extension of my portrait practice, and the headless nudes felt somewhat diminished.

#metoo and the male gaze

painting of men in suits with nude women — Men in Suits

I have already written at length about my experience painting “Men in Suits”, so won’t repeat myself here. The original post is here: Men in Suits.
I mention this painting as it was a defining moment in my artistic development, where I identified the themes that I wanted to explore with my art, which I went on to develop over the next couple of years. This painting took so long to finish that the main motivation behind it – the #metoo movement – had long since disappeared from the headlines.

Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew

detail from the judgement of men — Continuing the theme with The Judgement of Men (detail)

Misogyny and male menace are still pervasive in our patriarchal society. #metoo might not be on the frontpages now, but the underlying causes for the movement are still there. Recent court proceedings have put Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein back into the headlines. They were the subject of my painting The Judgement of Men shown above.
You can see more of my paintings that deal with these issues here: Recent Work

Nakedness and Vulnerability

a painting inspired by Goya's the disasters of war, with putin and prigozhin overseeing atrocities, with naked bodies hung from trees — the disasters of war

So why did I include so many naked figures in my latest painting The Disasters of War? The keyword here is naked. These figures are naked, exposed and vulnerable. Their nakedness has been forced on them as an act of humiliation and degradation.
But despite this and their terrible situation, they preserve a sense of quiet dignity; there is a beauty about them. The figure on the left is based on Rubens’ Christ Descending from the Cross.

Although the naked figures are in no way sexualised, I wanted there to be an erotic undertone to the masked female figure wielding the knife. This alludes to the base instincts and urges that are feeding this awful war. When I witness the raptures of joy displayed with every killed soldier, I wonder just how close sex and violence are on the spectrum of primal instincts.

Male Menace and Future Work

The theme that I keep returning to in my recent work is male menace, and male objectification of women. These character traits (or flaws) have always been around. I cringe when I think about what was considered acceptable behaviour when I was young.
I have featured the likes of Prince Andrew in a number of my paintings, calling out his bad behaviour. But these paintings are really about all men. We are all culpable, including myself. This is why in my painting Men in Suits I included myself in the back, amongst the various sex pests and offenders. I also added a masked figure, who could well represent you, the viewer.

layout of artwork inspired by the rite of spring — Proposal for artwork inspired by the Rite of Spring

The layout above was my proposal for the Concord Art Prize – a competition for artworks inspired by a piece of music. My proposal was inspired by The Rite of Spring – a composition that has everything. Starting with a joyful innocence, it builds up slowly, ending in a dizzying climax – a frantic menacing finale. It was going to be the convergence of a number of themes that run through my work: beauty; sexuality; lechery; male menace.
It was disappointing that my proposal wasn’t accepted. I am confident that it would be an interesting project, and haven’t ruled out developing it further. I wrote more about the painting here: Rite of Spring

Pictures of People

The art that excites me most and the paintings that I like to create all feature people. I am fascinated with how artists over the years have depicted their sitters, whether it is a society portrait or a painting of a hired nude model. Although my most recent anti-war paintings may have intended to shock with their use of nudity, most of my earlier nude paintings were meant as sympathetic portraits. My art practice now is more focused on portrait painting, but going forward I don’t really see a clear distinction between that work and my paintings of the nude.

nude portrait of artist model — portrait of a model

02/10/202304/10/2023

Working Methods – Underpainting and Glazing

two recent portrait paintings with one unfinished, still in underpainting stage — Two portraits – one unfinished in underpainting stage

Painting Technique: Glazing

I often bore people with long conversations about my use of glazes, without realising they don’t know what I’m talking about. So I thought I’d write a post about this wonderful technique, and how it has transformed my art.
It’s not complicated. Glazing is applying transparent layers of paint over another dried layer of opaque paint. One benefit is that highlighted areas retain their saturation and luminosity, and don’t turn chalky, as is the case if you mix colours with white. Shadow areas can achieve a depth of colour you can’t achieve with a simple layer of opaque paint.
The disadvantage in using this technique is it relies on some forethought in preparing a suitable underpainting, and that underpainting has to be allowed to dry before applying the glazes. This obviously slows down the painting process.

Note: I use oil paints, and everything I say applies to that medium. You can just as easily use glazes with acrylics, but I’m not qualified to advise on which mediums to use.

details of two paintings demonstrating use of glazing over underpainting — Underpainting stage compared to a finished painting with glazes applied

Grisaille Underpainting

Traditionally a “grisaille” underpainting was monochrome, but I tend to add a little colour during this earlier stage. I am careful to keep the tonal value in shadow areas fairly light, as glazes will deepen the final tone.
The most difficult thing is anticipating how the glazes will look, especially as I might end up with six or more separate layers of glaze, to achieve the desired effect.

How Glazes Transformed my Art

When I studied at art school, there was no instruction in painting techniques. We were left to experiment and find our own means of expression. I embraced speed of execution and painted in an “alla prima” technique – wet paint onto wet paint. It was fine for landscapes (yes, I used to paint landscapes) but I became frustrated that I could not achieve the effects I wanted when painting portraits and figures.
It wasn’t until I resumed painting years later, that I took the time to study traditional painting techniques. It was a revelation. Now I had the tools to create the paintings that I wanted, and it has allowed me to explore portraiture and nudes, which have always been my first love.

painting demonstrating use of glazes — When applying glazes, you can use a cloth to remove the glaze from small areas

Glazing can be spontaneous

Having written about all the methodical preparation required in using this technique, I should add that they can be applied as freely and loosely as you like. The only limitation is the need then to allow each layer to dry. But if use an alkyd medium like liquin, or just add some to a traditional glaze medium, it will speed up drying times considerably.
Technically you should only use transparent or semi-transparent paints with glazes (transparency/opacity is marked on every tube of artist oil). You can use the same technique with white or opaque colours, but it will give an entirely different effect. One example would be using a thin glaze with zinc white to paint the bloom on grapes.

If you like the effects achieved with glazes, you will find that all the paintings in my gallery pages have been painted using this technique.

Gallery Page

If you want to read more about the use of glazes, there is an interesting article about how Vermeer used this technique in his paintings:

essentialvermeer.com/technique

22/09/202316/11/2023

Silver Award at the Cancer Feminine Art Prize

I was very pleased to learn that my painting “Woman on Bed” won the Silver Award at the Cancer Feminine Art Prize 2023. An award is always nice, but the cash prize is also much appreciated 🙂
The competition was organised by Purple Octopus Art, who:

“provide a platform for art and expressive writing that addresses human disease and environmental issues”.

I will update this post with more information when Purple Octopus have updated their gallery with this years competition. In the meantime, you can find their website here: purpleoctopusart.com

Update

Their gallery is now live, with a selection of the artworks. Link below:

2023 The Cancer Feminine

13/09/202310/10/2023

The Disasters of War – a painting

A reaction to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

I’ve been reluctant to write about this painting, for fear of how it will be viewed by potential portrait customers. I haven’t even offered it to any exhibitions. But as you read this, millions of lives have been ruined or lost by a pointless conflict, so who am I to fret over losing a few commissions. So here we go.
After finishing my painting Men Wrestling, I still felt compelled to say something about the barbarity and viscousness of events unfolding in Ukraine. It’s too easy to feel detached from it all, viewing it as a spectacle rather than the existential crisis it is. That was exactly what I wanted to convey with Men Wrestling – world leaders looking on as the two naked wrestlers (representing Russia and Ukraine) are embraced in a fight to the death. For my next painting I wanted to show the cruel horror of it all.

goya disasters of war Plate 39: Grande hazaña! Con muertos! (A heroic feat! With dead men!). — Goya – A heroic feat! With dead men!

Goya – The Disasters of War

Los desastres de la guerra is a series of 82 prints created between 1810-1820 by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya (1746–1828). These etchings are viewed as a visual protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising, and the subsequent Peninsular War of 1808–1814. They were not published during the artist’s lifetime; they are considered a graphic representation of the atrocities of war. As such, they were the perfect source material and inspiration for the painting I wanted to create.

Composing the painting

Creating a painting like this is a bit like directing a play. You have your story and actors, and much of the time you are arranging them on the stage to describe a particular scene.
Below is a video (apologies for the very bad exposure) where I talk about the painting at quite an early stage. I explain how I saw a certain dignity in the brutalised figures Goya had hanging from trees, with similarities to some depictions of Christ descending from the Cross.

Putin and Prigozhin

From the beginning I wanted the main actors occupying centre stage to be Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin. At the time I painted this, Prigozhin was alive and still a trusted ally of the president, with his Wagner group taking the lead in the assault on Bakhmut. That costly assault gave Russia its only gain since the early days of the war. During this battle, Wagner mercenaries were accused of castrating Ukrainian prisoners (read the story here).

This central section also draws some inspiration from The Flaying of Marsyas – a late work by Titian which shows the killing by flaying or skinning alive of Marsyas, a satyr. Marsyas is hung from a tree like a butcher’s carcass, much like the brutalised figures in Goya’s etchings, and also like the captured soldiers in my painting. I wanted to capture something of the inhuman and bestial behaviour of the invading Russian troops; behaviour that most people could not believe would be happening in Europe in the 21st Century.

A picnic at an execution

It took me a while to fill the space in the bottom left. I tried out various figures, but in the end settled for someone having a picnic in front of this awful scene.

woman in hat enjoying a picnic in front of soldiers being tortured — woman enjoying a picnic, with blood splatters

I had in mind the wealthy Muscovites dining in their expensive restaurants, thinking themselves isolated from the “special operation” happening in a foreign land; they might see it as their evening entertainment on TV.
But they are still tainted by it.
As are we all.

I will be exhibiting this painting along with The Gleaners at S. B. Art Gallery in London, from the 27th-29th October

S.B. ART STUDIOS