As an onlooker, you may have often marveled at the stunning portraits or oil paintings, without really thinking too much about what goes into creating one. As all would agree, painting is an art, but quite a demanding one at that! It’s not just about putting right colors in the right places; it also involves a good deal of techniques and strategies, integral to a great painting. An artist would of course know, and an aspiring artist would be interested in knowing the tricks of the trade. Let’s sweep through some of the essentials of portrait painting.

Most painters forget to spend sufficient time looking at the subject. It’s a golden rule to spend 60% of the time looking at it, 20% time looking at your canvas and the rest 20% looking at what you’re actually painting. Look deep and analyze your subject to bring out the best on your painting.