Art Is Not Simply Talent, It Is Practice

Audible are only soft blues and scratches. Pencils, pastel crayons and paint brushes stroke across paper as 17 artists, arranged in a circle, all strive to capture the same image in their own way. Looking upward, a dance instructor sits as the subject in the middle of the canvasses.

Around her are artists, some focus on the model's upswept hair and strong features. Others sketch her body and limbs, using either definite, precise lines or faint strokes augmented by shading.

One painter from Crystal Lake aims to capture movement, and she does this by superimposing watercolor outlines across the canvas. Her work involves mostly landscapes, and she used the group's weekly sessions to keep up with less practiced skills, like figure drawing.

While it is natural to associate musicians with practice, she says most cannot draw an association between artists and the same. Studying her painting, the artist says she really likes how it turned out. Whether its hours of long labor or a quick practice session, greatness in portraiture can come, reaching out to the audience with the depth of human expression.

Another lady artist, who returned two years ago from a 20 year hiatus when she lost herself in the world of business, uses portraiture as her primary medium of expression Portraits have always touched her in a certain way. The canvas is where she can translate her understanding of the emotion of the subject. She has used an unlikely combination of colors which are dark green, blue, yellow and white to create a stunningly life like portrait of the model, capturing her confident and regal demeanor.

To artists, the face is more than its overt colors. For the painting to come to life, light and corresponding tones, whether cool blues and greens or warm yellows and whites, must also be painted. She says she is just attempting to ape the style of Renoir.

Most portrait artists use both live sittings and photographs in commission work. For those with no time to spare sending a photograph is convenient, but a live sitting enhances the personality captured on canvas. After all, capturing personality on canvas may be rather difficult.

This is because people show their true selves only momentarily. Her goal goes beyond mimicking a photograph. She really strives to capture what's inside the person, and success means a great portrait.

When working on commission, artists must reconcile personal concepts and perceptions with the patron's requests. With bright colors, the portrait looks even better.