Abraham Lincoln Portrait

                                                                       14 x 11 inches
                                                                           Acrylic
                                                                         Carol Yap    

This painting started out with brushwork and I was going to leave it like that. It did stay that way for a few days and every time I walked by it, I thought, "I have to change it."  When the opportunity to paint came I changed it to a palette knife portrait and the looks are much different. Raw and meaningful I would describe it. More texture, more personality, more courtroom wear and tear of a young lawyer. The former was too smooth and we know his life wasn't exactly smooth. All of these things reminded  me of other painters and their feelings about painting.

Edgar Degas, "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things."

Degas also said, "Painting is very easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do."

The funny thing is I understand both of these conflicting statements. When we are painting we are a mixed bag of emotions. Degas painted around forty self portraits at the beginning of his career. Edgar's stomach must have sank and lifted a few times.

Details of Abraham Lincoln's portrait painting for sale here.

Modern Art Portrait Painting

I've never painted a portrait of my Mother before. She is very active for her age and keeps on the move. I snapped a photo of her all bundled up with scarves and coat reading her mail in the car. The light bounces off the letter up to her face which prompted me to document it. This Winter has been cold and in the single digits often, since my Mother grew up in Montana, all of these wrappings seem appropriate.

The best modern portraits represent character and symbolism. Here I start with a palette knife to capture her inner psyche and vitality more than an exact duplicate of her features.

As an artist you are "given" many choices and consider them a gift. To paint her looking directly at the viewer or more of a casual pose? Warm or cool palette?  Since this is not a commissioned portrait I am free to paint entirely from the heart.

There are a number of societies and associations of portrait painters. For Classic Portraits,  Portrait Society of America and The International Society of Portrait Artists  and many others.

Carol Yap Website