Seeing What’s Written in the Face

Painting changes what you see. When I first started painting, I began to notice shadows, reflections, shapes, and perspectives everywhere I looked. Learning how to see is the first step to drawing or painting. In fact, it has been said that it isn’t drawing we need to teach but seeing. When I paint flowers, I observe subtle value and temperature changes. With portraits, my focus is on the different planes of the face and how the light is hitting each plane and how it affects its value and color. The more I understand about the anatomy of the face, the more I can see. 

I love the process of figuring out what makes something look like it does. This is especially true with portraits. As a counselor, I observed and listened to people carefully to understand them deeply.  A lot could be communicated in a face or in other nonverbal behavior. Sometimes, it almost seemed like information was written on the face so to speak.

This observation of information on the face happens in my art as well. Early on, I painted a picture of my father. My relationship with him was conflictual, and I reluctantly painted him. However, what I noticed was that each time I picked up the paintbrush and looked back and forth from photo to painting, I started wondering what it was like for him as a boy sitting on the street curb waiting for his father to come out of the bar. It increased my empathy for the pain he lived with and that formed him. I truly believe it was written on his face. It was written in the brows and in how he held his mouth—a kind of hesitancy. 

I thoroughly enjoy people as I paint their faces. Personality is expressed in the muscles of the face, and this is observable. I discover new-found beauty in their uniqueness. This reminds me of a quote by Frederick Franck who said, “I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is—sheer miracle.”  This is why I love painting portraits. I get to see how extraordinary people are!  Take time to listen carefully and observe people. Wonderful things are written on their faces.