A portrait should capture the personality of the subject.
If you are a artist, it is exciting to broaden your subject matter to not only complete honest portraits of people but to include all living things.
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Among the most handsome are the First People of the Americas. Looking at one's portrait, you get a sense of fearlessness, strength of character, bravery, intelligence -- to mention only a few descriptives.
 War Chief, Crow, 10x13, pastel  Medicine Man, First People, 10x8, pastel  This little girl was very friendly. She had no problem coming right up to see what was happening. Who couldn't love such a face. The Kiss, 10x13, pastel SOLD Black & White portraits are a lot of fun. Most times, everything is in their eyes.  Dr. Thom, 10 x 13, pastel SOLD  Altie, 10 x 13, pastel NFS  Our local performing arts center asked artists to create a piece for a silent auction to raise funds for their activities. Who could possibly turn down such a request? To add interest, they assigned a theme and color scheme for each piece. My assigned theme was Southwest People and the color scheme: Split Complementary. This was a joy to complete. American Statesman, 10.5x14, pastel SOLD We all remember our first dance. Thoughts like "Am I pretty enough for someone to ask me? " or "What if she turns me down? " ran through our heads. For this little girl, it was obvious that her mom, spent a lot of time embroidering a most beautiful dress, fixing her hair, braiding the headband, and carefully attaching the small bouquet of flowers for this big day. If I were a little boy, I would have asked her to dance with me the entire evening. Her First Dance, 16x16, pastel SOLD  Each year the local Art League invites artists to reproduce an artwork from an old master. This year I sketched out a 1521 classic from Albrecht Dürer, Study of St. Jerome. 9x12, Ink, charcoal, pastel |  Southern Cheyenne Chief, Wolf Robe, 10x13, pastel  Lakota Chief, Red Horse, 10x8, pastel It's so delightful that cats are amazingly curious. They are attracted by anything new or out of the ordinary. This little guy was mesmerized by these unidentified floating objects. Focus, 10 x 13, pastel   Karen, 10 x 13, pastel SOLD  Rich, 10 x 13, pastel NFS Don't you just want to give her a hug. Whenever I get a chance, I snap photos of cows -- they have such beautiful faces. Emma, 9 x 11, pastel SOLD   This big kitty was not doing well at the animal shelter. His best friend was placed in a care center and he lost his home and family. He now lets us live with him. He is a big roly-poly who knows several tricks, like how to ask for food, how to snuggle in bed, how to look for birds through the window, and how to wake you up early in the morning. Birdwatching, 16x20, pastel, SOLD  |