Painting portraits- Oil to Digital

A bit of history-

Portraits have always been popular and intriguing. Of course, before the invention of photography, a portrait, whether painted or drawn or even sculpted, was the only way to record how a person looked. However, portraits have always been more than just a reproduction of a visual appearance. Throughout history, portraits have been used to show power and status, beauty or wealth or any other qualities associated with the sitter. They detail clothing, giving a sense of the personality and psychology of the subject and also give a sense of time.

Petite rebelle, ©2011Suzanne Bélair, Oil on canvas, 24×20 in (61 x 50.8 cm)

My take on Portrait painting-

For me, a painted portrait has to represent likeliness to the subject but more importantly the feeling of individuality and personality. Portrait painting conveys so many emotions that words cannot describe. They tell a story about the subject as well as a story about me, the artist.

Solange en Espagne ©2021 Suzanne Bélair, Digital Art

Memories fade and there is something unique about a beautiful portrait.

Why Digital painting–

As an oil painter, I find myself increasingly using digital tools. I use Procreate to plan my larger paintings now. I also use it to paint portraits. A digital device gives me the flexibility of working anywhere, sometimes for a couple hours, other times as short as 15-20 minutes without taking brushes and paint out.

Maurice, ©2021 Suzanne Bélair, Digital Art

If you are careful, you don’t lose your art. It is one of the drawbacks of using these tools. Don’t forget to Lock Lock Lock your layers when you’re not working on them, a mistake I found myself regretting often at the beginning of my journey into Digital art.

I have created several other digital portraits some of them posted here last year when I did most of the ”30 faces 30 days” challenge of July 2020 and others I did for family and friends as they hit a milestone or just for fun.

Josiane ©2020 Suzanne Bélair, Digital Art

About this group portrait–

This latest portrait was challenging because it represents 7 individuals I know and love and it was super important for their personalities to shine through. I also wanted them to like their representation and I was working with very few good photographs.