The Art of the Portrait by Deb Curtin

When I started my very first job out of college as a layout artist for a newspaper in Massachusetts, I learned on the job and became proficient over time. I left that job after only three years knowing I needed to move on to other possibilities in the art world. Today I can look back and see quite the interesting art path I have travelled. I always felt drawn to doing more art and have never stopped. To me growing and learning through artistic opportunities makes for a more varied palette of skills. 

When we moved to New Hampshire, I found a job working for a local printer. I had a baby daughter to care for so this mom and pop place was a good fit. The Adult Evening program in town offered a drawing class and The New Hampshire Art Institute offered a colored pencil drawing class during the year. I said 'why not?' Keep up and keep going, that's my motto. This time in my art life led me to an interesting challenge. My boss asked me to paint or draw a house portrait of his family's lovely old-style Cape. In  the barter (we decided to make it one), I needed a piece of furniture stripped and refinished which he agreed to do. I completed the house portrait and he restored my family heirloom. (I think he put in more time and sweat for sure!)

This first portrait started a path to more portraits after putting a small ad in the local paper. Every house portrait and some other unique portrait collaborations has had a neat story. I delved into people portraits with some apprehension but figured out my style and went with it. Each of these also has a story. These few I'll share with you.

#1 - Michael

This portrait was commissioned by the grandparents as one of their two grandchildren. I was given a picture of Michael and knew immediately he needed a haircut and a proper shirt. Done.

#2 - Lauren

Lauren was in a bathing suit and her hair was wet in the photo I received of her from the grandparents. So, I dried her hair and then styled it. A floral dress was given to me to have her wear in the portrait. No problem. I asked daughter #3 who was about the same age as Lauren to put the dress on and model for me. It worked.

#3 - Jordan

I wanted to thank a co-worker of mine who helped me immensely when I started a new job. I chose one of Jordan's favorite fairy tales and used Tinker Bell to personalize the portrait.

My advice is don't stop what YOU are doing! Keep the pen, pencil, brush, chalk, charcoal, paint, and fingers moving on the paper, canvas, board, wall etc. Look for those opportunities to 'just do it'.

Contact information:

Deb Curtin

debcurtin5@gmail.com
603 432-8143

Thank you, Deb, for this inspiring blog post. If you would like to submit a guest blog post, please e-mail it to treasurer, Linda Feinberg, lhfeinberg@myfairpoint.net