Favourite quotes about portraiture

This is NOT a collection of quotes about portraits, portraiture, portrait drawing and portrait painting which has been generated automatically. (check out some of the collections of quotes to see what I mean!)

This collection of quotations has been curated by me in terms of those I think are helpful to understanding the art of portraiture. It will also be expanded and added to as time goes on and I find more good ones. 

Also, rather than producing a long disconnected list, I've tried (as I often to do with information) to sort it into groups to see if it's possible to make more sense of what's being said. To look at the meaning behind the words.

Famous quotations about portraiture

One of the most famous quotations about art concerns portraiture and is by the very famous artist and portrait painter John Singer Sargent.

A portrait is a painting with something a little wrong with the mouth.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), American painter of many portraits

It's glibly trotted out on frequent occasions.

However, to my mind, as a quotation it succeeds because it's 

• simple and easy to remember
• instantly recognisable by all those who have ever tried painting portraits i.e. it's a truism relating to the difficulties and challenges that artists face when painting a mouth
• an observation often made by those who don't paint but who want to appear clever when viewing portraits so as they can explain why, in their opinion, the portrait painter got it wrong!

For a classic example of the latter read my blog posts about the portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge by Paul Emsley which was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery

• Paul Emsley and the Duchess of Cambridge - two videos and a drawing (12 Jan 2013)
• HRH The Duchess of Cambridge official portrait - my verdict (15 Jan 2013)

the first ever formal official portrait of 
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 
painted by Paul Emsley 
at the National Portrait Gallery

Out of the contretemps relating to the Duchess of Cambridge portrait, I acquired a new and very memorable quotation said personally to me by Sandy Nairne himself - the man who commissioned the portrait!

You can count the number of portrait paintings in this (National Portrait) Gallery that include teeth on the fingers of both hands!

Sandy Nairne, the (then) Director of the National Portrait Gallery (2002-2015)

Here's a snappy assertion by that great author and non-painter Charles Dickens

"There are only two styles of portrait painting; the serious and the smirk."
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

READ: 

• The Serious and the Smirk - The Smile in Portraiture By Nicholas Jeeves

The most famous portrait in the world
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Below are some famous quotations about portraiture. I've endeavoured to source them but haven't been successful in all instances. The reason for this is I've found on more than a few occasions that the quote in common circulation is garbled....

I've also included some of my commentary and links to more information about the artist.

Why paint portraits

What fascinates me much, much more than does anything else in my metier is the portrait, the modern portrait.
Vincent Van Gogh Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Wilhelmina van Gogh Auvers-sur-Oise, 5 June 1890

Few professional painters are good at painting portraits. Many amateur artists aspire to being portrait painters - and only some realise the difference between good and bad portraiture.

In my view, artists paint portraits because:

• they are a challenge - portraits are difficult and not easy
• they continue to be 'high status art' and good portrait painters command high fees
• they provide a steady flow of commissions if you become any good - meaning your income from art becomes more certain - thus reducing some of the cashflow stresses often associated with being an artist

The process of painting a portrait

Making A Mark: the 20 most popular blog posts for artists (Part 2 2006-2019)

This is a list of Making A Mark blog posts from previous years (2006-2019) - unrelated to art on television - which have proved to be perennially popular - and were the most popular in 2020

It follows on from yesterday's post Making A Mark - the 20 most popular blog posts for artists in 2020 (Part 1) - which highlighted how art on television - rather than in exhibitions - became very popular in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Summary

As last year five of the ten are "how to" posts - although interestingly not the same five as last year! If you write a good "how to" post on your blog about perennial topics it can be of value and generate traffic for very many years - but popularity and relevance can come and go.

I'm also noting which are NEW ENTRIES and which have moved up or down compared to last year's post Making A Mark - the 20 most popular blog posts in 2019. The Pandemic has had an obvious impact on some.

Please note that I've excluded all television posts from previous years as they get their moment in the limelight in the most popular posts in a year - see yesterday's post Making A Mark - the 20 most popular blog posts for artists in 2020 (Part 1)

#1. Favourite quotes about drawing and sketching

The mobile version of Favourite quotes about drawing and sketching (2013) was the most popular post in 2020 - by some considerable distance.

Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is, it will be well worth while, and it will do you a world of good.
Cennino Cennini

L'Écho, study for Une Baignade, Asnières (Bathing Place, Asnières) by Georges Seurat
Conté crayon on Michallet paper. 31.2 × 24 cm

Last year it was #2 - and was outranked by my somewhat encyclopedic annual guide to the BP Portrait Award in 2018. 

Last year I said I kept meaning to do an update to this post and this year it's definitely going on my 'to do' list.

#2 How to hang a large or heavy picture - using heavy duty hanging hardware

How to hang a large or heavy picture - using heavy duty hanging hardware (2015) has moved up one place as the BP slipped out of the rankings

I can only think nobody else has written a decent post about this topic. It's certainly the case that is something you don't want to get this wrong - which is why this post beats the next one on traffic! Includes pics of kit you need and helpful videos!

However this might also reflect activities associated with Covid-19 lockdowns (see the next post!)

#3. How to hang a picture - using D rings

How to hang a picture - using D Rings (2015). This post is particularly relevant for smaller paintings and drawings.

PLUS:

• I've now also got a page about How to hang a picture on my Art Business Info for Artists website
• I also wrote a summary blog post about How to hang a picture back in April 2020 when it suddenly struck me that lockdown is when everybody decides to 
• redecorate 
• and/or completely rehang their art collection 
• and/or finally get round to hanging those paintings they've bought which have never quite made it on to the wall. (I know that's one of the things I did!

Hanging hardware

#4. Creating a signature on your art

Creating a signature on your art (2009) - moved up five places this year.

This is one of those perennial issues which comes up time and time again concerns the best way to sign your art. 

This is of course quite different to another type of signature - Signature membership which I also wrote about in 2009.

#5. Who knew Giles from Gogglebox was an artist?

Who knew Giles from Gogglebox was an artist? (2018) is a NEW ENTRY in the top ranked older posts

It just goes to show that art and television seems to be a very popular connection. (Television posts are banned from this post - but this one is allowed in because Giles does not do art on television!)

#6. Artists and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

Artists and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) (2016) is another climber - up four places from #10 last year.

Again this is one of those perennial topics which is often searched for but rarely produces a decent response. I think this one still comes top on Google.

#7. How to create a 'search description' for your Blogger post

How to create a 'search description' for your Blogger post (2009) - This is a NEW ENTRY and one which I suspect has cropped up due to the change from Legacy/Classic Blogger to New Blogger. 

#8. What kind of art do people like to buy online?

What kind of art do people like to buy online? (2016) is another NEW ENTRY.  This post covers:

• the similarities and differences between the type of art that British and American people buy online
• how this compares to the type of art that people like to paint.

Based on sales data in 1 January - 31 December 2015 (Source: Artfinder)

I suspect this post has popped up because of the unique nature of 2020 - when an awful lot of art exhibitions and art fairs did not take place. Hence more and more artists have turned to trying to sell their art online.

I think maybe it's now time to revisit this post - maybe via a poll or survey to see whether anything has changed in the Covid-19 era.

In the meantime - for all those interested in this topic - please take a look at the big section about How to Sell Your Art on Art Business for Artists

#9. How to sign an art print

How to sign an art print (2011) has dropped four place since last year. However it's a detail that matters - and for some reason there's not many "how to" articles!

#10. How to do a reverse image search

How to do a reverse image search (2011) is another blog post about a perennially popular search query - which has also dropped four places. 

You can find the updated version here - How to do a reverse image search in the Copyright section of my Art Business Info for Artists website.

Addendum

One of the things I tried to do when I started this blog was to write about things which I thought artists needed or wanted to know about - but which weren't covered terribly well online. 

That's still the case - and if you ever get a query where you cannot find a satisfactory answer, do please let me know and I'll see if I can come up with one! Although I try to avoid practical matters I've no experience of!

Favourite quotes about drawing and sketching

Tell me what's your favourite quote about drawing or sketching.

Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is, it will be well worth while, and it will do you a world of good.
Cennino Cennini

I'm a lover of quotations and I'm trying to include some in the book I'm writing - however I want some really good ones!

Below are the quotations which are contenders for inclusion to date.  I'll add any of your suggestions which I particularly like into this list.  That's not to say they aren't all good - but I am trying to find the best ones!

[This list has now been updated with quotations from the suggestions and others I've subsequently found- please keep the suggestions coming. I've also changed the images to be ones relating to the artists quoted]

 

Dutch artists

"I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing."
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) Post Impressionist painter

"In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing."
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) Post Impressionist painter

 

French artists

"The first things to study are form and values. For me, these are the things that are the basics of what is serious in art.
Jean Baptiste Corot (1796-1875), French painter

“Faites des lignes. Faites beaucoup de lignes.” ("Draw lines - draw a lot of lines")
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres - 1780 – 14 January 1867) French Neoclassical painter.
(This was his advice to a young Degas who had announced he wanted to become a painter)

 

Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper (1873) by Edgar Degas
Graphite heightened with black and white chalk on pink wove paper (now faded);
squared for transfer
Height: 330 mm (12.99 in). Width: 244 mm (9.61 in)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

"Drawing is the artist's most direct and spontaneous expression, a species of writing: it reveals, better than does painting, his true personality."
Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917) French artist

"Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see"
Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917) French artist

Originality depends only on the character of the drawing and the vision peculiar to each artist.Georges Seurat (1859 - 1891) French Post Impressionist painter

L'Écho, study for Une Baignade, Asnières (Bathing Place, Asnières)
by Georges Seurat
Conté crayon on Michallet paper. 31.2 × 24 cm

 

"I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies."
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris a.k.a. as Le Corbusier (1887-1965) French architect 

"Drawing is putting a line (a)round an idea."
Henry Matisse (1869 - 1954) French artist 

"Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation."
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 - 2004) French photographer 

"One must always draw, draw with the eyes, when one cannot draw with a pencil"
Balthus (1908 - 2001) Polish-French modern artist 

 

Italian Artists

"You can never do too much drawing."
Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594), Venetian painter

 

Spanish artists

“In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt."
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Spanish artist

"Drawing is the honesty of the art. there is no possibility of cheating. it is either good or bad."
Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) Spanish Surrealist Painter

 

Swiss artist

"A drawing is simply a line going for a walk."
Paul Klee (1879 - 1940) German-Swiss artist

 

UK artists

"Drawing takes time. A line has time in it"
David Hockney (1937 - date) English artist

Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.
David Hockney (1937 - date) English artist

 

Sketch of Henry Tonks (1918) by John Singer Sargent

USA artists

"You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh."
John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925) American artist

"Drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter cannot draw. But one who draws well can always paint".
Arshile Gorky (1904- 1948) Armenian-American painter  

"I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen"
Frederick Franck (1909 - 2006) Dutch American sculptor 

14th October: Who's made a mark this week?

Homage to Klimt (the Kiss 2007)

copyright John P Smolko CPSA
Grand Prizewinner, American Artist 70th anniversay competition
colored pencil on museum mat board, 40 x 40
Collection the Sargent-Laessig Museum of Fine Arts, Hinckley, Ohio.

Congratulations to...

• John P. Smolko CPSA (website), who is the Grand Prize Winner of the 70th Anniversary Competition run by American Artist with Homage to Klimt (The Kiss (2007). I'm so pleased as this gives additional recognition to John's very unique way of working with coloured pencil. John featured on my blog in July and has already agreed to doing an interview for this blog and I think I need to make sure that happens soon!
  
• Also to Ranjini Venkatachari (Ranjini V's Studio) who was awarded third place in the coloured pencil section of the same competition with Usual Suspects. You can see how Ranjini developed the work here.
  
• Kate (Cathy Johnson - The Quicksilver Workaholic) - who got the advance copy of her new book on Monday
• and Kate, Cindy Woods (Learning Daily), Amanda Kavanagh (Craftmonkeys), Roz Stendahl (Rozworks), Enrique Flores (Sketchbooks)and everybody else who have images in Danny Gregory's new book. You can get a preview of this here. (I'm very tempted to run off a photograph of Amanda's workspace as an incentive for me to be more tidy......)
  

......and me - for being asked to do something rather interesting. It maybe however be a long time before I can tell you what! ;)

Usual Suspects
copyright Ranjini Venkatachari
Third Prize, Colored Pencil section, American Artist 70th Anniversary competition

The Big Drawing Book Review

October is the month of my Big Drawing Book Review. The reviews done since last week plus their pencil rating follow. The first bit is reviewer and blog and the second bit is title of book, author and pencil rating. More next week - I've got a lot of people on a promise - you know who you are! Do please remind give me a nudge if you do a review.

• Laurel Neustadter (An Artist's Journey) - Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil (J D Hillberry) - 4 pencils
• Dave Terry (365 Journal Entries) - Drawing with Imagination (Bert Dodson)
  
• Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark) - The Pen and Ink Book (Jos. A. Smith) - 5 pencils
  
• Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark) - The Drawing Book (Sarah Simblet) - 5 pencils
  
• Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark) - Drawing from Life - The Journal as Art (Jennifer New) - 4 pencils
  

Art Blogs

• You can find a huge number (500+) blogs relating to children's publishing at Jacketflap.
• JacketFlap is all about Children's books and the people and companies involved in making Children's books and they claim it is the world's largest and most comprehensive resource for information on the children's book industry.
  
• According to the site writers, illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, and publishers visit JacketFlap every day.
  
• It provides a blog reader which can categorise and sort different types of blog (eg agents and illustrators.
  
• Casey Klahn (The Colorist) has had a bit of a rant at the Weblogs Awards organisers for making art invisible. By which he means they have failed to have category for art and illustrated blogs. I noticed this last year and I do think it's a big oversight - there's lots of blogs I'd like to nominate. Casey notes that representations can be made and it doesn't take very long to register. Meanwhile I shall be having my very own Making A Mark Awards at the end of the year. Maybe I ought to introduce a readers choice category?
• check out Dave Terry (365 journal entries) - and his 'drawings from a red light stalker' as well as his preferences for sketchbooks!
  

Art education and workshops

• Maggie Stiefvater (Greywaren Art) did a nice piece - Planning painting - about her process for painting streetscapes in acrylic - with lots of pictures of different stages. While all the time reminding us, naturally, of how much we can speed up the processes used if we produce a new painting every day.
  

Art exhibitions and B&M galleries

• You can see some of the pictures in the new Millais exhibition at Tate Britain via this - Guardian slideshow
• Nuit Blanche in Paris was not without comment - vandals unfortunately made a mark on one of the Monet paintings in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris
• Paul Dorrell's (Paul Dorrell's Blog) has a useful post in his Friday tips series about consigning your work to a gallery and gallery percentages.
  

Art Marketing - online art galleries/websites and forums

I don't often write about places to avoid - I much prefer to emphasise those which offer good products and services which are worth knowing about.

• such as this Entrepreneur article about the success story which is Etsy - an online marketplace for all things handmade which I know gives a nice warm feeling to quite a few artists who sell their work online.
  

However from time to time it's necessary to wave a warning flag and recommend caution.........read on

• On Monday, Dan at Empty Easel wrote an article identifying spam activity by representatives of Fine Art America and advising artists to avoid Fine Art America. Over at Imagekind, this thread is indicative of the approaches artists registered on other sites have received from Fine Art America. I can also confirm that an anonymous spam comment was left for publication on this blog but I didn't approve it for publication as both content and placement made it appear spammy and that combined with anonymity was enough to make me suspicious. I checked with a few people (including Dan) and sites and found they'd similar experiences. I also looked at the site and it appears that the moderation is lax as there seem to be a fair number of plagiarised works for sale. On the face of it's not a site I'd recommend.
  

Art quotes

• Marion Boddy Evans (painting.about.com) has compiled a collection of quotes from famous artists about dealing with criticism.
  

Art Supplies

• I came across a number of art supplies firms this week while looking for one thing in particular - and I'll probably do a blog post about these. In the meantime I thought I'd highlight Scribblers - the calligraphy blog. Lots of wonderful advice about matters to do with pens and ink.
  
• I do wish I could find the UK equivalent of Clearbags and an associated website site which does as well with the range on offer and its FAQs. I have a giant role of cellophane which does a wonderful job of protecting portfolio items but I do hanker after bags........

When you read this I'm probably going to be at the AGM of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society - or on my way there or back again. I'll be seeing the exhibition and collecting my work on this it's last day. Comments will therefore not appear until I've got back.