Painting Portraits is a special category of Art. You can paint portraits of people and of course our pets. You can paint a portrait from a photograph, but that is not what I have in mind for this blog. Painting from “life” is the real art. It requires: extensive knowledge & the skill of painting the anatomy of the face and most of all the ability to express the essence and energy of the model. When you combine these skills, they still fall short if the painter can’t tie it all together.
Last Saturday, Eddie Filer demonstrated his talent of painting portraits here at Tyler Studio. We had a packed house–standing room only. It was fun to watch Eddie develop his painting and listen to him describe his process. He is going to present a two day workshop at the Galveston Art League this coming week. I think that it is full. So all of this attention to Eddie’s portrait talent tells me that there is a great desire by many to understand and appreciate the art of portrait painting.
Eddie has been painting and working on his skills for 30 years. He believes that there is an “artistic reality that reflects the truth…a truth that is beyond mere likeness”. Eddie’s work has enjoyed the praise of Simmie Knox. Mr. Knox is the only black artist who has been commissioned to paint the president and first lady of the United States. He painted the portraits of the Clintons. Needless to say that Eddie is very proud of this recognition.
I am looking forward to Eddie’s show next January (2017). I am sure that we will all be happy to see his next body of work. He and I are talking about putting on a portrait workshop in the fall or winter of this year here. I think that we will keep the seating limited so that Eddie’s attention can most helpful to the students. Let me know if you are interested in being on the list of attendees.
