Although in recent years I have spent most of my time painting pet and animal portraits, I have never lost my fascination with painting the human face. To paint an accurate likeness and capture the inner personality of a human being demands great skill and power of observation. This is the "Mount Everest" of the painter's art. And so, I include here a few of the many portraits of people I have painted over the years.

A portrait can be in any scale or size, and I will paint them anyway the client wishes. However, I find that human portraits are most effective painted life-size, or close to it. The great American portraitist, John Singer Sargent, advocated measuring the height of the head and then deducting one-half inch. Most of the portraits selected for this section were painted as Sargent suggested--almost life size.

In accordance with this formula, a 14" x 18" would be fine for a small child, head and shoulders. A 16" x 20" does nicely for an adult head and shoulders. A 20" x 24" is less crowded, almost down to the waist. A 24" x 30" will include the hands of a seated subject. A 30" x 40" will include the hands of a standing adult. The paintings shown in the Gallery can be an effective guide in this regard. Of course, any other size--custom or standard--can also be chosen.

Please take a little time to peruse the portraits in this Gallery. I hope you find them interesting and enjoyable.