Notes about Portraiture

• Artists use a wide range of media for portraiture, including drawing, printing, painting, sculpture, photography and multimedia.

• Some artists may wish display their artistic skill in capturing an exact likeness of their subject by using a very realistic painting technique.

• Some artists may wish to express their subjects inner personality by simplifying or emphasising the shapes, colours, tones or textures of the portrait for dramatic effect.

• Some artists may reduce their subject to abstract elements where the style or expressive power of the image is more important than a physical resemblance to the sitter.

• Backgrounds, locations or objects associated with the subject often have a strong effect on the way we interpret a portrait.