I’ve always been drawn to portraits. I took a watercolor portraits workshop with Molly Murrah as I’ve always loved the look of watercolor but found it to be a bit unweildy. Our church has a fundraising program every year for the month of February titled “do what you love to fight what you hate”, and I thought about things I loved doing but rarely take the chance to do. Watercolor portraits felt like a bold move, but I reassured myself that it was for charity so even if they weren’t fantastic, it would still be good practice and give me a reason to paint.
I took on the challenge and posted that I would do watercolor portraits for donations to Rescue Freedom, an organization that works to set people free from sexual slavery and trafficking.
I had 10 friends and family sign up for a portrait, and suddenly I had my work cut out for me!
Choosing Your Style
There are so many different styles and methods for doing a portrait. One of my favorite styles is a loose approach with ink over top to add clarity and definition. I had lots of practice drawing in black and white, but adding color was a whole new challenge to get right. On several of the portraits, I ended up redoing it entirely because the colors were not there, or I had added so many layers that it started turning into mush. All part of the learning process!
Portrait Commissions
Portraits are a very personal thing, and art is very subjective. I learned a lot from the challange of doing these, and I look forward to opportunities to do more watercolor portraits in the future. Although I respect hyper-realism in painting and the patience it requires, I prefer to paint in a more free-form style. Contact me if you are interested in a custom portrait!
