Numbers of artists stay away from difficulty of recreating emotions, moods, or fleeting moments in portraits. One courageous, self taught artist displays his portraits on his living room walls in the home he shares with his wife in Marion. He put together the faces of an American tap dancer, an actor a scientist, the composite between three famous comedians, the traditional cast members of a long running science fiction TV series, a former TV reporter, various rock stars, athletes and entertainers, and his friends for a single montage called "Faces". He begins by grabbing photos from videos, which yields unexpected expressions. The montage follows his personal development through the people who influenced him during the year and a half he spent painting it.
He also has individual portraits, of the lead singer of Babes in Toyland, a Russian gymnast, and a songwriter. He specializes in pencil, graphite, and charcoal. He tried conte crayon and then colored pencils. He and his Japanese wife, a Kobe native, were the subjects of his first venture with colored pencils. The work was an attempt to meld traditional American drawing with Japanese wood block print. He drew his own version of their close up wedding photo, taken in City Hall in December 1996, with personal and Japanese symbols as an added touch.
These symbols included their three cats, which were not present at the actual wedding. The artist drew one cat's face to resemble a mask from a Japanese opera believed to chase away evil spirits. The second cat he drew in a position of good luck.
In the drawing, the couple is dressed in kimonos. The kikyo flower, her matriarchal symbol, covers his wife. In order to draw notice to the gingko tree, he drew it past the third cat, past the vertical blinds, outside the room. The University of Iowa has a tree that inspired the gingko, a sing of longevity.
The couple first worked together on this 1997 drawing. His wife worked on brainstorming and testing ideas. According to the wife, the drawing means so much to them. His next challenge is incorporating his favorite figures onto landscapes.
He has never had his own exhibit, but his work has been published, four inside and one cover, in a book. The book editor came across the artwork upon referral by a member of the staff. The editor needed to express his admiration of the artist's technique and emailed him. His childhood days of drawing action heroes and rock stars have given way to virtual masterpieces. His skills are so refined that he can portray on paper any image or impression. He says its better than taking a picture, because you can add or change things.
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More expert paintings information is located at pet portrait artists .Visit our site on portrait painting in oil for more resources on paintings.
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