Finding A Talented Oil Portrait Artist In Nyc Is Easy

By Iva Cannon


All oil paint is slow drying and has particles of pigment mainly linseed oil incorporated into it. The thickness of the paints can be changed by adding turpentine as well as white spirit also known as paint thinner. When seeking an oil portrait artist in NYC clients can also add varnish so that the end results show a very lustrous finish.

One artist is Marvin Mattelson who has been in the business for over forty years. He prides himself on the ability to demonstrate his craftsmanship bringing his subjects to life and also being able to reveal each ones true character. He is guaranteed to create a unique and exceptional work of art.

Many say that starting with the hair is the easiest. For the darker tones there is a combination of sienna, cadmium orange, crimson and viridian. For the lighter areas white, yellow ochre, viridian as well as cadium red and permanent green is used. In order to eliminate a yellow or blue tint to blond hair a purple-ish tint is mixed up.

Nanette Flehr has over twenty years experience in creating portraits and many hang in public collections all around the world. One of her most famous is the "Portrait of my Grandfather" and this was placed in the top ten out of over two thousand entries sponsored by the Artist's Magazine. She received the Martin F. Weber award at the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and a year later her portrait of Phyllis was exhibited.

His realistic painting in oil is an eleven day workshop and starts on the third of August 2015. This class will help one to use tactical thinking as well as getting to know different techniques. One will be shown how to paint a life like painting, as well as learning how to add one's own style. A field trip to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Arts will take place on the eighth where one can examine many of the greatest paintings. These will then be broken down and analyzed and students will be told how they inspired Marvin to develop his own technique.

The advantage of having slow drying paints is that the artist has a chance to make corrections or changes. The disadvantage is that it can take as long as a few months or even years to be completed. They do however have the ability to blend very well with other colors making details such as shadows and light possible. Many artists take advantage of using different thinning agents so that the portrait can be done in layers.

For artists that prefer their whites to be vibrant they would rather use the poppy and safflower oils as they leave a much lighter shade then when using linseed oil. Heat or steam is used to development and treat the different oils so that fewer impurities are found. In some instances certain additives are added so that the chemical properties can be changed.

All portrait paintings can be done by full length, half length as well as bust or just the head. There is one that the face of the model is not shown at all. This was done by Andrew Wyeth in 1948 of a crippled girl who had turned her back on the artist. Others are done with a full face view or three quarter view depending on the artist's version.




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