Today, many of us are equipped with Smartphones that can take sharper, brighter (and more flattering) photographs than the fanciest cameras of the previous decade. In fact, thanks to our phone cameras, we are actually living in the most documented time in history! 

In light of our modern capabilities, one form of art that may not be quite as understandable to the youngest generation is portraiture.  

Why do portraits matter?

I’m not talking about photography here (although photography and portrait photography are certainly art forms as well). Thanks to our access to various media, and our interest in the imagery of famous people, I think that many of us can appreciate well-done and interesting photoshoots and portrait photography. 

For the purposes of this article, I’m mainly talking about portraits in terms of paintings or drawings intended to capture a person’s likeness. This is an art form that many people may be able to appreciate, but not quite understand the relevance of, in today’s world.

However, whether you are a professional artist, a student of art, an art teacher, or just a regular, “non-artsy” person, there are some very important reasons that old-school portraits actually matter a lot, especially in the “selfie,” world of today. Here are four reasons why you should stop and look at (or stop and create) a portrait today.

1. Portraits are Living History

One of my favorite things about using art to study history is that it gives us an authentic, direct glimpse into times past. Portraits from long ago give us unique insights into those who lived before us: not just how they dressed or looked, but also what the artists of the time valued enough to observe and capture. In a way, portraits are like time-capsules, packed with insights of the past.

While the style and subjects chosen for portraits have shifted greatly over the years, the truth remains that the artist will usually strive to capture something that is striking about the subject.

Thinking about portraits in this way can give us some interesting insights. 

For instance, look at the painting below, the infamous Madame X by John Singer Sargent. The portrait’s subject, Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, was wealthy and well-known for her beauty. In fact, that’s probably why the artist wanted to paint her.

However, Sargent’s painting does much more than depict a pretty woman. Instead, Sargent takes something striking – and unseen- about his subject and brings it to the viewer’s attention.

Madame X  (1884) by John Singer Sargent

Many consider this painting to be the epitome of “a study of contrasts.” Virginie was known for her pale, white skin. Gautreau drew attention to this feature by painting the soft paleness of Virginie’s skin in stark contrast to her dark hair and the deep black, structured gown she wears. 

However, Sargent also seems to capture certain aspects of Virginie’s personality in the portrait that seem at odds with her physical beauty. He conveys her as vain and more than a  little bit scandalous: not nearly as beautiful on the inside as the outside (certainly not by the standards in those days).

How do we get all of this?

Her dress is much more revealing than befitted a lady of her time and status, her pose is proud and disdainful. These hints at character flaws play out in stark symbolic contrast to the subject’s idealized beauty. 

While it is considered to be one of history’s most famous portraits today, it was pretty shocking for the time period in which it was created.  From simply viewing and considering Madame X, we get a wealth of insight into the subject, the artist, and the values of the time period.

2. Portraits Reflect our Changing View of Mankind.

Through studying famous portraits throughout history, and especially by comparing them to each other, we can also observe history’s ever-changing perspectives about mankind’s role in the world. 

It’s pretty fascinating to see how big changes in portraiture (and their corresponding artistic movements) usually go hand-in-hand with ground-shaking historical event and societal changes. 

Studying portraits can even help reveal how, throughout history, one strong viewpoint often inspires an opposite stance.  The two examples below do a good job of showing this!

Romanticism: Defining Mankind as the Visionary

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818)–Caspar David Friedrich

This portrait by German artist Caspar Friedrich shows a lone man contemplating the foggy vista before him. This image perfectly represents what we now know as The Romantic Era (the art movement known as “Romanticism”.)

As you might guess from the name, Romanticism offered a pretty dreamy view of mankind. 

Poets, artists, philosophers, and writers of this time perceived mankind as solitary, creative, emotional, and visionary. This time period also viewed nature and dreams as powerful, communicative, and sometimes even prophetic. The mood of this work definitely reflects a contemplative, quest-like view of mankind’s role, with an emphasis on man’s place in the natural world. 

Like Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, many portraits of the Romantic Era depict the subject as special, dramatic, and even heroic.

The settings are often special, too: dream-like, beautiful, or on a grand or supernatural scale. Therefore it is very interesting that –directly on the tail of the Romanticism Art Movement, a completely opposite portrayal of mankind developed: Realism.

Realism: Defining Mankind by Daily Action

The Gross Clinic (1875)—Thomas Eakins

The Realism movement in art came right after the Romanticism movement and is often seen as a direct rebellion against it. Whereas Romanticism gives an idealized view of man, Realism took the opposite approach and focused on- (again, you can probably guess it from the name) – the real.  

Often this involved the portrayals of ordinary people doing mundane, pedestrian or even ugly tasks, such as in the portrait above-showing surgeons at work. Mankind’s role in the world is therefore defined by daily action–the ordinary things of everyday life.

As you can see, portraits do more than just depict individuals–they give us a greater, more general understanding of mankind and the various ways we’ve understood our own value over the course of history.  Portraits matter because they show us where we came from and how we’ve changed.

3. Portraits Show Us How Art Influences Culture

We’ve talked about how portraits can reflect the values of a time period, and how they can even provide insight into how/why those values change throughout history. However, there is another crucial component to the art and society/culture relationship that we haven’t discussed yet.

 Portraits don’t just reflect changes to society; sometimes they help ignite them, too.

This isn’t just true for portraits, of course. Many art forms (and subjects) are capable of influencing culture. In fact, one of the measures of good art is: does it challenge the way we’re used to thinking about things?

However, what’s unique about portraits is that they do this in a way that everyone can understand. Everyone relates to a portrait. Everyone can connect with an image of another human being. When we gaze at portraits, we are automatically challenged to figure out how these representations are the same- or different- from ourselves.

In other words, when we look at a portrait, we look for connection. That connection, when we find it and explore it, can catapult new ideas. New ideas, in turn, can spark societal changes.

 For example, look at this famous self-portrait by Edvard Munch, “The Scream.”

The Scream (1893)–Edvard Munch

 This Impressionistic self-portrait by Munch ignores realistic physical details. Instead, it is entirely focused on emotion. It’s a portrait of the interior, rather than the exterior, which reveals the artist’s own anxious and horror-stricken psychological state. This was an incredibly bold and influential concept at the time of the portrait’s rendering– when psychology was still regarded as a fairly new science and mental illness considered something that should be kept a secret.

Today, we openly discuss psychological distress and mental health. Perhaps we owe some of the credit for this to artists like Munch who were among the first to openly depict this once-avoided facet of life. This is merely one example of one way that act may encourage the ideas and questions that ultimately help change entire cultural conversations.

4. Portraits Push Us Towards Connection.

Let’s go back to talking about selfies for just a minute. While they may arguably capture the beauty ideals of our current era (hello Insta-filters), and they can help us remember moments of our lives, selfies don’t challenge anything about how we can or should see the world around us.

Selfies are usually 100% surface value, and as the name would indicate, they are self-oriented. They don’t teach us anything. They don’t connect us to new or unfamiliar ideas.

I’m not saying all of this to attack the selfie. However, I do think that we live in a selfie world, and it would be truly sad if that became the documentation that defined our time culture. 

And that’s why we need art, and portraits in particular. Because, portraits–whether of someone else or ourselves–help us to make connections. Portraits show us how to connect with historical figures and movements, and they can even connect us with our own perception of others, or of ourselves (such as in Munch’s The Scream). When we study a portrait, or create one, we look for those connections I mentioned earlier–differences, similarities, challenges. 

Questions, too, are often part of that connection.

In a portrait, even something like a lingering question, or a glaring uncertainty, can connect us better with the work of art, its subject,  the mindset of the artist, other viewers and our own consciousness. 

When you think of a portrait that inspires a question, your mind might go to the same work of art that mine does:  Leonardo Di Vinci’s infamous oil portrait, Mona Lisa. 

Mona Lisa (1503)–Leonardo Di Vinci.

This painting has been dubbed the most valuable in the world and is often considered to be the most famous, as well.

The reason? Mona Lisa is a universal mystery.

Viewing this painting leaves viewers puzzling over the subject’s enigmatic smile and the way her eyes seem to watch you, no matter where you stand. When we see this painting, we wonder about the subject: How she was feeling? What she was thinking?

 Mona Lisa is an unanswered question for the generations, connecting us all. 

In our selfie world, portraits matter more than ever. It’s vital that we take time to look at, appreciate -and even create- portraits every once in a while. Portraits connect us to our past: to people not so different from us, but living in very different times. They show us how our ideas have changed and grown. They encourage us to analyze and to question.

Ultimately, I think that the habit of studying people through the filter of art grounds us in this knowledge: while we all connected by the bonds of humankind, we all have things to learn from that connection.

At Sparketh, we encourage a community that can learn about art in its various forms. We also believe that anyone can, and should be able, to foster any creative skills that they desire. Here, you’ll find numerous courses, taught by professional artists, that teach art in a variety of mediums, including this whole series on how to create portraits in a variety of art styles. So take a few minutes today. Put down that camera phone, and look at – or create your own- portrait. It matters.

Written by Kathryn Gustafson

The post Why Do Portraits Matter? appeared first on Sparketh.

Today’s blog post is for any of you artists out there who are looking for some strategies for drawing better portraits. Of course, defining what “better” means also depends on your personal art style and what you are trying to achieve with your art. Every artist has their own unique style to cultivate and their own approach to Portraiture! Whereas one person may strive for Hyperrealism, another may be drawn towards a more Surrealist approach. On Sparketh.com,  our online art classes for kids and teens cover several different styles of Portraiture and teaches kids how to recreate them. This is an awesome place to start for young artists who are trying to discover their personal style. But whatever your preferred art style is, there are definitely some strategies that can help you to continue to improve your skills and draw better portraits!

The below portrait tips come from the professional artists and art instructors on the Sparketh team. Here are a few tips that have helped them increase their portrait skills and draw progressively better portraits. Below several of these tips, you’ll also find some visual examples that they created to demonstrate!

Tips for Drawing Better Portraits

1. Go from low to high detail.

This was the number 1 tip from artists on our team! When drawing portraits, always start with simple shapes. (For example, don’t start your portraits with a really detailed eye, even if eyes are your favorite!)  Once you have the shapes, you can get progressively more detailed as you add to your work.  One of Sparketh‘s art instructors compared this process to sculpting a face out of clay. In sculpting, you have to get the basic shapes and planes right before going in to add onto and tweak each one.

@sparketh

Community challege ends August 31st- for ages 18 and under! If you enjoyed this, check out the link in the bio for hundreds of creative resources for young artists #howtodraw #howtodrawface #arttips #arttok #myart #artistsoftiktok #artist

♬ original sound – Sparketh

2. Study proportions and planes of the human face.

While diversity is a huge point of interest when it comes to portraiture, there are some standardized features and proportions that you can study and practice to become more comfortable with facial anatomy! Learning some of the common planes and proportions of the human face can give you some great techniques to practice as you work on generic faces (or even as you develop an OC–original character).

As you become more comfortable with the basics, you can branch out and study features that are more common among certain ages, genders, and nationalities. The videos below from Sparketh’s social media channels will give you a couple of quick tips to get started, and our online art classes for kids and teens also contain several lessons on anatomy for portraits.

@sparketh

This should help with our self portrait drawing competition going on at community.sparketh.com! Submit one of your own for a chance to win $100 in art prizes #howtodraw #anatomy #drawingtips #drawingguide #arthelp #myart #artistsoftiktok #arttok

♬ original sound – Sparketh

3. Use a mirror to “check your work.”

Using a mirror may be an obvious tip for self-portraits, but did you know mirrors can help you with any of your artistic creations?

Reversing an image can help point out issues we may have missed in our artwork. If something looks off about your portrait (or any of your art) try looking at the piece in the mirror!  Since your eyes get used to looking at your paper/canvas from one perspective (sometimes for hours), this simple trick can be a good way to change your point of view. When you shift your perspective this way, you will often see flaws you may have not noticed before! Similarly, you can also try looking at your work upside down.

4. Try black and white.

Many of us love the fun of working in color, but sometimes going back to basic black and white can be a great way to hone your skills, especially when it comes to portrait work! Why? Charcoal or graphite (pencil) can be really effective tools to help you cultivate your sense of highlights and shadows, which adds a lot of depth and realism to your portrait.

Once you’re comfortable with adding shadows and light to your portraits this way, then its time to try a portrait in color!

5. Take a break.

Art can be such a meditative and high-concentration activity. It can literally take your mind off of everything else (which is one reason its great for helping kids learn how to focus and make decisions!) However, this also means that you can sometimes get hyper-focused on striving for perfection, especially when presented with a highly-detailed task like a portrait.

One quick and easy tip you can try when this happens?

Take a break!

Just like with anything else that demands your focus, sometimes a little break is all that’s needed to reset and approach your artwork with a new perspective. So if you find yourself getting frustrated: take a walk, eat a snack, chat with a friend or family member, play with your pet! We bet the next time you come back to your art, you’ll feel less frustrated and more ready to get creative and try a new approach.

6. Watch others create.

Watching other artists create is one of the best ways to get inspired! This is also a wonderful way to discover new styles and techniques that you’d like to try! When working on your portrait skills, you can follow artists who have both similar and different styles to your own. Getting inspired by a variety of different artists can be a great way to learn more about your own developing since of style. You can even watch a time-lapsed project and try to recreate it, step-by-step, in real time (and add your own twist!)

If you don’t already, follow Sparketh on TikTok, Instagram, Youtube or Facebook. Our team of artists is regularly creating free tips, tricks and challenges for young artists who are looking for artistic inspiration. For example, in the activity below, students learn quick way to recognize light and shadows in a fun and easy drawing activity.

@sparketh

To enter this art contest, you must be 18 or younger! Winner will receive $100 valued in art prizes- join the Sparketh Community if you haven’t yet and would like to enter! #artcontest #selfportrait #myart #arttok #drawingtutorial #howtodraw #artforbeginners

♬ original sound – Sparketh

7. Practice with a variety of subjects.

You knew this one was coming, right? The #1 tip for all things creative is to practice! The best way to learn how to draw better portraits is to get better every day by doing. Here are some ways you can encourage yourself to practice your portrait skills, every day!

• Set aside a little time daily to work through Sparketh’s Art Style Portrait Track. This will give you step-by-step guidance as you practice through several different art styles. It’s a great way to help you discover which style(s) resonate with you most!
• Ask your friends or family to sit for you so that you can practice drawing from life. It’s a whole different experience.
• Also practice drawing from a reference photos. Maria from our Youtube channel has some tips on this one, here.
• Don’t get stuck in a rut. Practice drawing people of different genders, ages, and nationalities!

We hope these tips help you in your quest to draw better portraits! We’d love to see your work, so please feel free to share it with us in the Sparketh gallery if you’re a Sparketh member, or in the Sparketh Community!

The post How to Draw Better Portraits! appeared first on Sparketh.

Today: we’re paying tribute to the Queen, investigating a mysterious 500 year old margin doodle, and sharing some trending art strategies you can check out at home!

Art News: The Art of Being Queen Elizabeth II

Yesterday, on September 8, the world received the news that Queen Elizabeth II passed away in Balmoral, her Scotland home. She was 96 years old. Queen Elizabeth was the longest ruling monarch in British history. However, she was more than that. Since her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth has become a beloved icon, a symbol for the British anthem of “Keep Calm and Carry On,” (and the Western World’s unofficial fancy grandma).  In her long lifetime, Queen Elizabeth also made a lasting impact on the art world.

Queen Elizabeth was “one of the most recognisable and also one of the most painted figures of her era or any other, depicted by some of the most interesting artists of the day from Pietro Annigoni in 1955 to Lucian Freud in 2001 and by photographers ranging from Cecil Beaton to Annie Leibovitz.” (The Art Newspaper )

This article from Culture Trip shares some of the most iconic portraits of the Queen, painted by some of the past century’s most noteworthy artists, in a huge variety of art styles that reflect the Queen’s face alongside the world’s changing times.

Cecil Beaton: Queen Elizabeth II on her Coronation Day (1953)

The many portraits of the Queen, in their wide variety of  art styles, represent more than just the woman behind them. These portraits show us how the world has changed over the generations of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.  Through the span of her rule, these portraits reveal how the Queen has been a fixed point by which society views itself.

Over the 7 decades of her monarchy, the face of Elizabeth II became iconic: a visible image of stability, calm, and grit during uncertain times. Through her role as Queen, she made herself a symbol, a living art form. History – and art history- will remember her long and steadfast reign. Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth II.

Chris Levine: The Lightness of Being (2014)

Read more about Queen Elizabeth II’s life and her relationship with art from the articles below:

The Art Newsletter: Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, the British Sovereign Who Perfected the Fine Art of Monarchy

The Culture Trip: Portraits of Queen Elizabeth that Everyone Should See

Trending Art: Fun & Easy Self-Portrait Trick

Speaking of portraits, we have a trending self-portrait art challenge for our young (or older) artists to try at home.

This TikTok shows artists who are a little intimidated by the self-portrait a fun and easy way to create a beautiful and vivid one. Yes, it involves some tracing. (But don’t call that cheating!) Instead, this challenge is a great way to learn about facial planes, combining contrasting colors, and shading/highlighting on the face. Try this art trick at home for yourself! It’s an awesome one for all ages and levels.

@sparketh

To enter this art contest, you must be 18 or younger! Winner will receive $100 valued in art prizes- join the Sparketh Community if you haven’t yet and would like to enter! #artcontest #selfportrait #myart #arttok #drawingtutorial #howtodraw #artforbeginners

♬ original sound – Sparketh

Serious question: What DO you define as cheating in art, by the way? (Beyond stealing someone’s work and calling it yours, of course.) Is there even such a thing? Pop your thoughts in the comments!

Latest Art News: Michelangelo in the Margins?

I don’t know if any of you are guilty of this, but I was a big-time notebook (and text book) doodler all the way through college. And hey, research says that doodling in class can actually help improve memory and focus, so no shame!

This week, the art world has been captivated by a very special 15th century margin doodle (shown below) found in a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Why? According to art scholar James Hall, the figure that was sketched there (500 + years ago) is none other than Michelangelo!

In this upcoming book, The Artist’s Studio: A Cultural History, Hall explores his evidence for this further, writing:  “The sculptor, hitherto unrecognised, can only be Michelangelo during or shortly after his triumphant achievement carving the David (1501-4).”

Hall goes on to state that the artist of the doodle wasn’t just sketching Michelangelo as he worked on David, but making a commentary as well.  The sketch is right next to the section in Divine Comedy where Dante decides to take the “high path to Hell.”

Could this be a prelude to a modern day meme?

The artist’s studio: a cultural history, James Hall, Thames & Hudson, 288pp, hb

Not only is this an insightful discovery to make about a master (and work) that we are familiar with, but it presents a fascinating mystery, too! I don’t know about you, but my brain is buzzing with questions:

• Who was this mysterious margin doodler?
• How did he (or she) know Michelangelo?
• What inside scoop did the doodler hold on the sculpture process of David? 

What do you think, Art Club readers??? Write me a story about the Mysterious Margin Doodler in the comments!

Creativity Resource: Painting Along in VR

Do you have an artistic kid that constantly loves to practice, but maybe you’re running out of storage space for the practice pieces? (Or maybe you can relate to that yourself.)  Do you have a Quest 2 or PCVR?

If yes, and yes, you’ll LOVE this.

Vermillion is an oil painting simulator designed for VR! It’s available on Quest 2 and PCVR. It is SO INCREDIBLY RELAXING, and it’s also a great way to practice painting techniques. You can blend your own colors and apply different levels of pressure to impact the textures. You can even paint alongside your Web browser, giving you access to your favorite online art classes, or Youtube or TikTok tutorials. Yes, that means you can paint absolutely all the “happy little trees,” your heart desires. You can even make a print of your best work.

Try it the next time someone in your house is stressed out! I promise it will help!

Learn more about Vermillion via their Website, here.

What’s your favorite way to be creative? Sometimes people undermine creativity activities or the arts, but you and I (and Albert Einstein) know that creativity is a very special form of intelligence–one that deserves our time, interest and appreciation! More than that: it’s fun! As you head into a new week ahead, I’m wishing you moments to celebrate creativity and all of the amazing joy it brings to your life!

The post The Art of Being Queen, A Mystery Margin Doodler, and Painting in VR! appeared first on Sparketh.