Portraits

For my fortieth birthday my wife decided to throw me a party. "What kind of party do you want?" she asked. "I just want to get a lot of presents," I said. I did get a lot of presents, and I had everyone there pose for a quick photo, the idea being that as a thank-you I would send each friend a painted portrait. This is an obligation I expect to take decades to fulfill. My exposure to art is mainly limited to a great program in middle school, and visiting museums as an adult, so I don't know where I got this idea. For a while, I was posting to Twitter and painting whoever responds. It's all acrylic on cheap canvasses. It's something I like to do as the spirit strikes me. It's engaging and I'm learning a lot while doing it.

#6. A friend. July 2021. This is my favorite one so far, and I did it in about an hour.
#5. My friend, Andrew. June 2021. The proportions (forehead and eye placement esp.) are off, and the eyes glaringly incorrect, like those ice beings in game of thrones, but I'm getting a feel for this.
#4. (former) Twitter mutual, June 2021. I cannot like this as it suffers from complete lack of artistic vision. I kept putting it off, waiting for inspiration to strike, but it never did.
#3. College friend (via Twitter), January 2021. This one looks like an amusement park caricature and I don't enjoy looking at it.
#2. Self-portrait, Christmas 2020. I painted it on an 18x24 canvass as a gag gift for a white elephant gift exchange. It was hilarious.
#1. My wife, Summer 2020. "It looks like a cross between Lily Tomlin and a cantaloupe."