Oil Portraits & Paintings

Oil is the most traditional and durable of the mediums for portraiture. The beautiful Persian shown on the left is painted in oil. (click to see larger picture) I use only artist's paints and supplies of the highest quality for all my portraits..

They may be painted on stretched canvas or linen or on a wooden panel. The panel offers the advantage of being lightweight and impervious to humidity changes.

Oil portraits are framed with a simple frame, with no mat and no glass. If you would like the effect of a mat, you may use a linen liner inside the frame. A frame shop can demonstrate this for you. You may opt to hang the canvas unframed - I will paint the edges of the canvas so that it will look great without a frame. All portraits on canvas are painted on "gallery wrap" canvas so that there are no staples visible anywhere.

Pastel Portraits & Paintings

Pastels are as traditional as oils. Pastel paintings from the 1500's are as beautiful today as when they were painted. Most of the paintings in my gallery are pastels. This portrait of a man and his dog was painted in pastels from a black & white photo. (Click to see larger picture)

Pastels are formed from pure pigment, the same pigments that are used in oil paint. They are mixed with just enough binder to be able to be formed into sticks. The pastels can be applied to any type of coarse paper, but I use an archival sanded pastel paper that allows me to put multiple coats of colors and to achieve a marvelous depth in my paintings. They do not need to be sprayed with a fixative.

Although a pastel is very durable and will last for centuries it must be framed with a mat under glass. This will protect the portrait because there is no oil or acrylic base to encase the pigments and hold them to the support surface.

Acrylic Portraits & Paintings

Acrylics are a wonderful medium. The painting of the boy on the beach was painted in acrylics. They can be painted and framed like oils, just a frame, no mat or glass, or they can be painted on paper like a watercolor. My style in acrylics is more impressionist than any of the other media. Acrylics are archival and I use only the finest artist's acrylics..

Watercolor Portraits & Paintings

Watercolor is the least durable medium, and should not be exposed to direct light (from a window, etc. The Dalmatian portrait shown on the bottom left is in watercolor (click to see larger picture)

Watercolor offers a translucency that is not available with any other medium. I use only artist's quality professional watercolors to create my paintings.

Graphite Portraits - I no longer offer graphite portraits.

Click here to Email me