Keep an eye on this page. Within the next few weeks
a fully functional page or two devoted to Digital Portraits
and related artwork will replace this page.
So What Exactly is Digital Oil Portraiture?
Digital Oil Portraiture is the process of taking a photograph and converting it to the digital equivalent
of a traditional painted portrait. Many of the same techniques are involved in the process. Colors are
mixed, size is chosen as are pose, type (Oil, Watercolor etc) and ultimate method of display.
The display aspect is a great strength of digital portraits. Where a traditional portrait cannot easily be
reproduced, a digital portrait can be duplicated via the giclee print process so other family members
can have their own. The result is that now not only the parents can have a child's portrait but so
can the grandparents, aunts, uncles
or anyone else important to your family.
To some, unfortunately, a digital portrait may mean a simple press of a button on some
software
program that promises one-step results. While these programs exist, there is much lacking in their
final results, life and vibrance chief among them. A true digital oil portrait is a time-consuming
endeavor
requiring much
study of the subject, as
well as a painstaking attention to detail. To
accomplish this, the artist must
have the training to learn not
only the mechanics of the
medium but possess the talent to see the
subject is a way that raises the
results to true art.
This is true of any medium and might be liken to the difference between "art" and "paint by numbers."
