

One way or another, all of these artists find ways of taking visual measurements of the proportional relationships down the central axis of the head.

There are also those portrait painters who have developed a technique of combining these two approaches, starting with briefly drawn linear markings and then proceeding directly to the larger shapes designating the framework of the head. Whereas the other method utilizes big painted shapes which indicate the identifying eye socket, angular jaw, protruding nose, etc.

The first of these two approaches emphasizes the lines defining the outside edges of the features. Others insist the best approach is to draw or paint the large shapes that correspond to the structure of the skull. Some advise their students to use straight lines to establish the level of the eyebrows, nose, chin, ears, neck and shoulders.
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Although every portrait painter might agree on that general concept, they differ on how to put it into practice. This is because the proportions have remained largely unchanged. He or she may have lost hair, gained more wrinkles around the eyes, added a second chin, or started wearing glasses, but you will still recognize him or her as being the same person. The proof of this assumption can be found when you compare pictures of someone at different times of his or her life. That is, the location of the eyes is more important than the color or shape of the eyes. Queen Vashti (oil on linen, 30 x 24) by Ann Manry KenyonĪn agreement among top painters of portraits is that a person’s likeness is dependent on the proportional relationships between facial features, not the specific shape of the nose, mouth, ears or eyes.
