LisaLCFan wrote:
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Is there a name for the style of drawing in these last two portraits?
apologies for late response. i have been in brusdal two days and one night. not really possible to go online.
your question: just experimenting, they are mostly unoriginal. i look at everyone else's pictures, often 'borrowing' something from them, and try to take it a little further. the result can be a mix of different styles, or 'swan' (style without a name). one could say i am an artistic robin hood; i take from the gifted and give to the inept.
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. . . many of [leonard's] self-portraits that I have seen are quite "unflattering", although he managed to make himself look good every now and then!
i agree. many of them invoke a feeling of sympathy. caricatures can absolutely be dreadful, as you point out - especially political ones that are designed to ridicule or hurt.
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I once sat for one of those "souvenir portraits" while on a holiday . . .
yes, disappointing they can certainly be. i have had my portrait drawn/painted numerous times, mostly by local artists but also elsewhere. the caricature ones don't resemble me, but a couple of the 'serious' ones are not bad. faces (and hands) are a big challenge when making a picture, so tactfulness is useful when giving a critique. the late american artist john singer sargent said: "every time i paint a portrait i lose a friend!" - drawing faces can be a risky business
