Enabnit, Merlin. How to Use Color in Portraits – Step by Step How to Paint. Walter Foster Art Books, 1950.
Merlin Enanit taught art at the School of Famous Teachers, a professional school of arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He moved to Hollywood California in the 40’s where he worked on Coca Cola ads and other major companies. Around that time he became a well-known portrait painter. Some of his most famous subjects are leaders of the United Nations as he was commissioned to paint them.
At the start of his career he was working in Seattle where he was known as “Seattle’s wizard of color.” Enabnit focused a lot on landscape paintings at the art of his career and then moved to portrait painting later on. A lot of his paintings were actually of 1950’s pin-up girls. Over his career, he wrote 3 best selling “How to” art books, one of which was “How to Use Color in Portraits.”
I want to use this book to learn about color theory. I think having a step by step guide in a traditional format will help with the foundation of my work. I have struggled with color theory and mixing skin tones in my past paintings, so this will help improve and practice my technique.
Guise, Stephen. How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfectionism. 2015.
“Stephen Guise is an international bestselling author, blogger, and entrepreneur. His books have been translated into 17 languages. As an author, Guise is known for delivering highly actionable, world-class behavior change strategies in a humorous wrapper. Stephen lives near Disney World in Orlando, FL.”
Stephen Guise provides guidance in achieving your goals in entertaining and relatable ways. His book, How to Be an Imperfectionist, is an example of his life advice on freeing yourself from the contrastaints that you have put on yourself. This book would be a great read for someone who is struggling with allowing themselves to be creative without thinking about what the outcome will be. Guise’s advice stepping away from perfectionism is intriguing: “Perfectionism is a naturally limiting mindset. For example, kids are taught to color inside the lines, and any color outside the lines is considered a mistake that must be corrected. Imperfectionism frees us to live outside the lines, where possibilities are infinite, mistakes are allowed, and self-judgment is minimal”.
I think reading this book would be a great motivation tool for myself. One the main take always from the advice Guide gives is that the best way to achieve your goals is by taking action and stopping procrastination. I think this advice could realy guide my project to a successful outcome.
Holbein: Capturing Character. 2022, The Morgan Library & Museum, NYC. Exhibit.
“Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98–1543) was among the most skilled, versatile, and inventive artists of the early 1500s. He created captivating portraits of courtiers, merchants, scholars, and statesmen in Basel, Switzerland, and later in England, and served as a court painter to Tudor King Henry VIII (1491–1547). Enriched by inscriptions, insignia, and evocative attributes, his portraits comprise eloquent visual statements of personal identity and illuminate the Renaissance culture of erudition, self-fashioning, luxury, and wit.”
This is an exhibit that focuses on portraiture and will help give me inspiration and be a great form of research for my project.
Jacobs, Denise. Banish Your Inner Critic. Mango Media, 2017.
Denise Jacobs is known for being a mentor in all creative endeavors. She is the Founder and CEO of a company called The Creative Dose where she teaches people how to break through creative blocks and gives techniques on how to be more productive with your creativity.
Jacobs is the author of Banish Your Inner Critic, a book that is recommended to people who are “interested in diving deep into your own creative genius.” The book goes into techniques and steps to overcoming the voice of self doubt, and to change these forms of habit into productivity.
While this book is not specifically related to oil painting or portraiture, I think it would be great to read as I dive into a creative project where I may encounter trouble with perfectionism and self doubt. I do often experience, as most creative people do, blockages that prevent me from moving forward. Whether that be incessive procrastination or the thought of my work never being good enough.
Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
The Met is a great form of inspiration for artists. It holds some historical significance in terms of art and is a great place to learn about artists and to see the art close up.
The museum will be a great place for me to spend my time immersing myself in the art.