As a portrait artist, my goal is always to capture the essence of my subject, whether human or animal. Most of the time, I can accomplish this through photo realistic facial features. The eyes are the window to the soul is so very true...and if a subject's eyes aren't "spot on", then I haven't done my job and the personality can be ruff. It could be any German Shepherd, not my client's!
Perfectionism is both a blessing and a curse in my line of work, especially when dealing with selected boxers and terriers and pugs (and the occasional human!) who are cross eyed or looking in two directions at the same time! Imagine my perfectionistic, balanced brain accepting the bulging, crooked, crossed eyeballs as PERFECTLY finished.
The struggle is real and challenging! REALLY CHALLENGING!
Cats, as temperamental as they can be, are a much easier lot to translate to canvas. Their features and eyes tend to be simpler and much more easily conveyed... with that permanent serious raised eyebrow look that tells you who the boss really is in your household, while knocking things off the shelf onto the floor.... purging hairballs onto the throw rug instead of the wood floor 3 inches away...all at the convenient hour of 3am!
Humans are the most complex subject matter. Personality is conveyed through the eyes and unique facial features. I can't hide things with extra hair and slobbery tongues ;-)
Children and seniors are my favorite subjects for different reasons. Kids either have an innocence about them or a mischievous "knowing" grin. Seniors have all kinds of life experiences wrapped up in their wrinkles and age spots that can be conveyed through color and texture....lots of texture.
The personalities are as varied as the eye shapes and shades of brown, blue and green.
It is my privilege to bring my subjects to life on canvas and paper and I thank you all for trusting me with such precious content!
"The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions." ~ Cicero