Several years ago I had the pleasure of having a young singer/songwriter by the name of Devon Mayson pose for a portrait sitting. This was just one of a series of portrait sittings I arranged at the time, all with different sitters. They went well, and I recall Devon in particular was fascinating to work with. But at this time I chose instead to concentrate on figure studies and my Relationships Series paintings, so the drawings and photos from these sessions have remained unused. Until now.
In the past few years portraiture has become a much more important part of my art practice, and so I have been taking another look at the reference material from these earlier sittings.
This is a portfolio piece, to demonstrate my skills to potential customers, and also to give them ideas for what they can have in their own portraits. This is an example of how the introduction of a landscape in the background can add visual interest to a portrait. It is a device I have used frequently in commissions – the main risk is that it can distract your view from the sitter. It was sometimes used to good effect in Renaissance portraits. Artists like Titian would usually set the sitter within a neutral, abstract space – possibly for economy. However the addition of a window view, as in the examples below, opens up the space and adds an extra meaning to the portrait..
If you are interested in commissioning a portrait, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. My email address is on my Contact page. I have also produced some portrait case studies which might be helpful – they are below this blog post.
The model for this paintings was singer/songwriter Devon Mayson. From her website:
“Devon is a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist whose unique style is shaped by influences from the musical worlds of Country, Folk and Pop”
Her website is here: devonmayson.com