I believe portraiture is one of the most important branches of fine art, not only for its own sake, but for its historical significance to humankind. A commissioned portrait often has to serve dual purposes—to accurately reflect the sitter, while taking into consideration the sitter’s vision for the painting and creating a work of art that will stand the test of time. For a portrait to be a work of art there are a number of elements that need the artist’s attention, including solid composition, an interesting pose, accurate anatomy and skill within the medium—all requiring years of study and practice. The much-anticipated Face-Off event showcases a wide variety of instruction, style, techniques and mediums.

An artist may successfully address all these elements but on the day of the unveiling, it’s all about the face! Does it look like the person? Did the artist capture his or her twinkle in the eye? Can you “feel” the sitter’s personality? Is the mouth right?

For over 24 years, the Portrait Society of America has provided educational programming to assist artists in “getting it right.” By creating programs that build a communication bridge between practicing artists and emerging artists, we provide both inspiration and technical information. Seth Haverkamp discussed the fundamental principles of a strong portrait during his lively demonstration.

Louis Carr’s sold-out drawing workshop focused on practicing posing, drawing and composing.

This year, after two and half years apart, the Portrait Society returned to a face-to-face meeting and it was so good to be back in community with each other. After the meeting, we received hundreds of thank you notes, but one in particular stood out. Kerry Dunn, a faculty artist this year wrote, “Attending this year’s conference left me with a profound sense of the amazing community that is the Portrait Society of America. Many of the people there I have known for up to 10 years now. Some more than others, but I realized that this is my community. As I was making the long drive Sunday from Atlanta to Philadelphia, the profound realization that we are living out our lives connected to each other through the bond of portraiture and paint, the bond of the Portrait Society of America, cracked my mind open. I am incredibly grateful to have found my tribe in this life. The folks at the Portrait Society, whom we will share our lives with, our successes and failures, our mistakes and triumphs, the ups…the downs…the sideways…how incredibly valuable this is. And this is why we paint portraits, why we paint people—because of the connection we feel with each other. It’s a unique bond, one that I think is timeless. There has always been and will always be people who feel compelled to draw and paint our fellow humans. An organization like the Portrait Society is so needed in our society and culture.”Grace DeVito’s portrait, August, oil, 40 x 40”, was awarded first place in the Commissioned Portrait Category of the Members Only Competition.

Learning all the required elements for a successful portrait career takes years of study and practice,  and opportunities to exchange ideas with fellow artists can provide needed direction to support this artistic journey.  To find out more about the Portrait Society visit: www.portraitsociety.org. —

Join us for our 25th year hosting The Art of the Portrait, May 11-14, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Register at www.portraitsociety.org 

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