portrait Archives - Peter D'Alessandri Portrait and Figurative Artist

16/11/202307/12/2023

Why Commission a Portrait Painting

Why would you commission a portrait painting?

This is a question I often ponder over. Commissioning a portrait is not a spontaneous decision. It requires an investment of your 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, or is it just a niche interest – a curious relic from history.

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. 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.

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

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. But 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.

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.

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 is an unruly medium: smelly; ruins your clothes and furniture; takes ages to dry, and can be difficult to use. 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. For a brief moment I was so relieved at not choking on nasty fumes or having to watch for paint splashes and wait for layers to dry, that I stupidly thought it might be the future of painting.
But 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

If you’re interested in commissioning a portrait, or would just like more information, please do get in touch via the email 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

26/06/202307/11/2023

Portrait of a Singer

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..

titian and possibly Giorgione portraits, showing technique of adding window in background — Two examples of Renaissance portraits with window in background

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

25/05/202317/09/2023

Learning from Rembrandt

A recent visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam compelled me to rework an old painting. It was the Rembrandts that did it.
I painted my self-portrait “Halo” during a particularly difficult time in my life. I had become the carer for my terminally ill partner. People praised me for my fortitude, but I was aware of a disparity between how people saw me and how I truly felt. Deep down there was an awful darkness; a sense of despair. I tried to recreate this sense in a painting, but wasn’t completely successful.

detail from the painting halo — detail from reworked painting

Anyway, fast forward to March this year, and I had a splendid time visiting Amsterdam and studying the Rembrandts at the Rijksmuseum. Although there’s a very good selection of Rembrandts to be seen in London, I was captivated by the examples in Amsterdam – some really fine late Rembrandts. I could stare at them for hours. I marvel at the detail he could suggest in the shadows, with such economy. And there was such a sadness in those eyes.
In looking at these wonderful paintings by the great master of portraiture, I felt a desire to revisit one of my earlier self-portraits: “Halo”.

I didn’t undertake many changes. Basically I added a few more layers of glaze, but this time I was a bit looser in the application and removal. It is easy to fall into the trap of becoming too precious when applying glazes. It’s the final stage, and the underpainting might have taken many hours to complete, so there’s an obvious reluctance to mess it up with a sloppy final layers. But looking at those old Rembrandts, what struck me is the spontaneity of the most beautiful passages in his paintings. He wasn’t afraid of messing them up.

11/07/202214/08/2023

Ramsgate Artists Portrait

This is a photo of my latest work in progress. When I moved to Ramsgate I had the idea of painting a series of portraits of Ramsgate artists. I thought it would be a good way of introducing myself to the local artistic community, I could promote my portrait work, and I might find some interesting subjects. So what happened?
I had a run of four commissions which seem to have taken as many months to finish. Good for the bank balance, but not so good for this particular project. And then I got covid, which seemed to linger forever. I lost my studio, and then I sold my boat and moved away from Ramsgate. Oh well.

The sitting took place in November last year. Fingers crossed that I can finish it soon 🙂 The sitter was Ramsgate composer and sound artist Emily Peasgood. She is an amazing artist and I was so pleased that she found the time to sit for me. You can check out her work here: emilypeasgood.com

30/07/202130/07/2021

Turner Contemporary Open

seated woman wearing a stars and stripes top — American Dreamer

I’m very pleased to have my portrait American Dreamer accepted for the Turner Contemporary Open exhibition, due to open in Margate this Autumn. I’ve been based in Kent for a couple of years now (if you count a year in lockdown), and I haven’t had the opportunity to show my work locally. And it’s very exciting to be involved in a “real world” show again, hopefully with real people milling about looking at the art.

The drawings and photos from this sitting date back to the long hot summer of 2013 ☀️ I remember the day well. It was so oppressively hot, my model felt quite unwell. There was a power cut just as I set up the studio lights, so I had to quickly relocate the sitting to near the window in my lounge. Maybe because of the unplanned nature of the sitting (they weren’t the poses I’d been planning on), I didn’t really bother looking at the material for a very long time.
I suppose it was the chaotic end to the Trump presidency that made me think again of that sitting years before, with a young model sporting a stars and stripes top. 2013 had been a period of relative calm and optimism: No cold war, divided nations, Capitol Hill riots, Brexit, Pandemic or Lockdown. Yes, 2013 seems like a different world. I am hoping, after what feels like a much darker and more challenging time, we may be heading towards a calmer, more hopeful future.

American Dreamer, 2021