Diego Velázquez - Portrait Study
After Rembrandt left the studio, I needed some one else to keep watch over things. So the Spanish painter to the court of King Phillip IV, Diego Velázquez (1599 - 1660) was it. Unlike Rembrandt, he was not an avid painter of self portraits, so that there weren't many to choose from.
My aim is firstly improve my portraiture by rendering as accurately as possible the subject. This is a tricky business, because a millimetre or two out with the placement of the features and the face looks wrong. It can be quite frustrating to pick what is misplaced. But making the effort to make these minor adjustments are worth the time and effort, because everyone is an expert on the human face. We look at them every day.
The second aim is to learn from the masters themselves. I may not be using the same palette, but I have to figure out solutions to achieve similar effects. I'm not out to slavishly copy their brushstrokes, rather to capture the essence of the painting.
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Velazquez the great, master like no other, good luck with this genius @leoplaw.
Indeed! But I have a few others lined up also.
No words needed, you truly made it!
Thank yiou @johano!
Amazing study, @leoplaw <3 The richness of your colour is incredible in this one <3 I think you captured him and his style perfectly <3
Thank you @veryspider! I used different camera settings on this one to capture deeper colours.
I ADORE portraiture and literally spend many many visits to the portrait gallery when I am in London. I just dont' get sick of looking at paintings of people, now real talking people, with their opinions...that's another story ;)
Whenever I return to London, I'll have to pay a visit to that gallery and see it with new eyes.
At least a painting won't talk back. ;-)
It's so true, that's why I love animals and art, great companions SILENT companions ;)
If you are in London anytime soon, let me know. I'm hoping for a london steemit meetup sometime over Winter.
Will do!
Very good job!
Thank you Kathleen!
Dear Artzonian, thanks for using the #ArtzOne hashtag. Your work is valuable to the @ArtzOne community. Quote of the week: Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics. -Victor Pinchuk
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