Three New Portraits and What I Was Really Trying to Say

I’ve been busy painting portraits over the past few weeks and I absolutely love it. There is something about working in a series that gives you a real deep dive into a subject, and portraits are no exception.

When it comes to painting portraits, or any subject really, it’s never about copying what you see. It’s about capturing the feeling. What are you trying to convey? What is it about this subject that made you want to paint it in the first place? That’s the question I always come back to.

And this is something the great masters understood so well. Think about the Impressionists and the way they worked. They weren’t standing in front of a scene trying to replicate every single detail. They were painting the moment. The atmosphere. The emotion of being there. Monet wasn’t counting the petals on his water lilies, he was capturing the light, the shimmer, the feeling of a warm afternoon by the pond. That’s why those paintings still stop us in our tracks today. Because they feel like something.

That’s exactly what I wanted to bring to this series.

The First Portrait

Here’s the first of the three new portraits I’ve created, and I want to share a little about what I was going for with this one.

From the moment I started working on him I knew he needed to be bold. He has energy and sass and I really wanted to get that across. There was no room for anything timid here. Bold brushwork, strong colour choices, confident marks. When you’re trying to convey personality in a portrait you have to make decisions and commit to them, because hesitation shows up in the paint. You can always tell when an artist has been precious about their marks.

The Impressionists were brilliant at this too. A few confident strokes to suggest rather than explain. A colour that feels alive rather than safe. That’s the energy I was going for here.

The Second Portrait

This one asked something completely different of me. Where the first portrait was all boldness and energy, this piece wanted me to slow down and listen.

The feeling I wanted to convey here was quieter. More reflective. There’s a stillness to her that I found really beautiful to work with, and I had to adjust my whole approach to honour that. Softer colour relationships, more breathing space, areas where I pulled back and let the paint just be.

I always tell my students that what you leave out of a painting can be just as powerful as what you put in. This portrait really put that to the test for me. And I learned so much from working on her.

The Third Portrait

This one was a bit of a mix really. I knew I wanted that bold yellow background, that warmth and energy that yellow can bring, but I also wanted her to feel deep in thought. Quiet within all that colour. There’s something I find really beautiful about that contrast, bold joyful colour on the outside and something more contemplative sitting within it. Pops of colour throughout to keep things alive and vibrant, but a stillness to her expression that I hope draws you in.

And whilst planning absolutely has its place, some paintings just need you to respond in the moment. To figure it out as you go. To trust your instincts and see where the paint takes you. This was certainly one of those, and I think that’s exactly what makes it feel alive.

Working on these three pieces reminded me of something I come back to again and again, both in my own practice and when I’m teaching. Painting isn’t about getting it right. It’s about saying something true. And when you commit to that, when you stop worrying about whether it looks exactly like the reference and start asking how it feels, that’s when the real magic happens.

I hope these portraits inspire you to think about what you’re trying to say in your own work. Whatever subject you’re painting, ask yourself that question. What’s the feeling? What do you want someone to experience when they look at this?

I’d love to know what you think of these three pieces. Feel free to add a comment below, I genuinely love hearing from you.

Happy painting,

Michelle