August 30, 2011

[Our World] The Portrait Painter

For centuries royalty and aristocrats submitted themselves to sit for weeks while a portrait painter created their likeness on canvas for posterity. In more recent times, anyone with sufficient coin could commission a private or public portrait.

Other than on the streets of Europe and America where tourists roam, I have seldom seen this art form and thought it had pretty well gone the way of the horse and buggy ever since portrait photography studios became the norm. 

Yet today I chanced upon this man of talent in a small stall in a mall. 

 Manila, 2011

Give him a photo and in a matter of days he can create a fabulous likeness or an amusing caricature of you, a loved one, or your entire family. You can choose pastel, charcoal or oil. Take a good look, you may recognize a face or two. I think you'll agree with me that this painter is gifted. 



And no, this is not a sales pitch. Just sharing a bit of my world for Our World Tuesday.

29 comments:

VioletSky said...

I, too, would have though this was a dying art form. That is quite an array of media that he uses, too.

cieldequimper said...

He is talented! My grandparents took me to Montmartre one day to do just this, I have no clue where the sketch of me is now...

EG CameraGirl said...

I wish I had half his talent! Amazing!

Ms. Becky said...

he has a marvelous talent to be sure. and I also love how you've captured him - that look in his eye. great job Francisca. happy day to you!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Can't imagine how anyone can do that. I hope he is making a living with his remarkable talent!

Unknown said...

He sure is good.

Leckeres für Mensch und Katze - Goodies for a pleasant life said...

Good painter :)

Anonymous said...

i still wish i had this talent. glad that his business seems to be thriving even though there is a software that could mimic his art.

joo said...

He is skilled! Isn't it amazing what some people can do?
Have a nice evening:)
j.

Carver said...

I agree, he is very talented.

Snap said...

Talented is an understatement!

Penelope Notes said...

The talented artist has an interesting face. It would be nice if he did a series of portraits of himself one day. :)

Kay L. Davies said...

Yes, he's very good, and I agree, he has an interesting face himself.
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Arija said...

There still are quite a few such artists around, I have met some in Prague and Paris. People who have the knack and skill to do a portrait at speed. I do hope he can make a living from his art.

Sylvia K said...

Oh, what a wonderful talent!! I hope he is properly appreciated by others like you! I'm so happy that you are continuing to share your wonderful worlds with us, Francisca! Sorry I'm so late getting around -- long wait in the doctors office!! Have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

Anonymous said...

He is very talented! We saw someone doing this on the streets of Paris over the summer hols. As you say, it's fairly common in Europe.

H said...

He is very gifted! You'd have to look closely to realise that some of those portraits were not actually photographs!

Kaori said...

Oh wow. That is gorgeous. Is that Nicole Kidman? I remember going to Six Flags and getting an animated version of my face done ;D

Jackie said...

A very talented man. My dh met a Korean in Saudi who did the same thing, he was painting a portrait of me from a photo, but unfortunately was later denied access to the compound, so we don't know where my photo or portrait ended up.

Gattina said...

We have lots of these artists on the Grand'Place in Brussels or when there is a fair or around famous buildings. Some of them are real good.

jennyfreckles said...

These are very good indeed. I had my portrait done once in the street - but I hoped the end result didn't really look like me!

eileeninmd said...

What a talented artist. the portraits are very good. Thanks for sharing, I hope the rest of your week is great.

Unknown said...

He is my brother Dean Z. Aniversario ...got a lot of talent but underpaid... Hope one day he could have his own shop.

Francisca said...

Thank you, Dean's brother, for identifying. Dean deserves his own shop, for sure. This was posted in 2011, and I hope he is still well. How amazing that you found this. :-)

Mrs. Yen A. Depita said...

He's my father. I didn't get to see him for many years from now. I too loves his works very much and I'm still proud of him. I've been into chracoal painting for 8 years and counting and so I wish to be as great as him someday.

Francisca said...

To the son of the artist Dean, thank you for stopping by. I wish you much success with your charcoal painting. You must have the talent in your genes.

Mrs. Yen A. Depita said...

No. I'm his daughter. I'm 24 years old and his eldest legal child. Thank you for recognizing the works of my father. I wish someday, my younger brother will met him because they haven't see each other for 22 years and counting. My younger brother too posses the talent in his genes but a little bit timid in expressing it.

Francisca said...

To Dean's daughter, I apologize for not being more gender sensitive. Again I congratulate you on your talent, and your younger brother, too. My creative output is my photography, but I cannot draw even a stick man. I last saw your father in this stall when I took these photos and I don't know whether he is still there. Do you know where he is now? My hope is that you and your brother can tell him in person how proud of him you are. Ingat.

Mrs. Yen A. Depita said...

My smile went wider as I read the word, "ingat". That's a Filipino word which means "take care". I am a teacher and open minded to every little mistakes, the gender sensitivity is not an issue. My father works now in Bacoor Cavite. He had his new stall there in a mall, much wider than the old one. Yes. In God's time, we will see our father soon.