Painting Portraits by Everett Raymond Kinstler (book review).
I picked up Everett Raymond Kinstler’s book ‘Painting Portraits’ a few years ago. Since I’m considering painting a portrait and have several unread books on the subject, I thought it would be a good idea to read and review this one now. Kinstler (1926-2019) frequently appears in TwoMorrows publications due to his beginnings as a comicbook artist, and this book presents an excellent chance to view some of his later artwork.
While not all of the artwork is in color, it’s worth noting that this book was published in 1971, a time when the cost of a book was typical prior to significant inflation. Even nearly 50 years later, some of the paintings may still be recognizable. I should point out that amongst the variety of paintings shown here, there are also two astronauts in their unhelmeted spacesuits, Scott Carpenter and Alan Shephard.
Kinstler emphasizes that his book focuses more on philosophical issues related to preparation and how to maximize the potential of the model. He emphasizes that the poser is usually the one footing the bill, so it’s crucial to create a likeness that aligns with their preferences and perceptions, while maintaining honesty without being overly flattering. He suggests that they take the painting home for a few weeks to acclimate to it, which is a more sensible approach than making an instant judgment. People mostly only see themselves in a mirror, which is a flip-flop of what they look like. I like his solutions for some modifications, i.e., too thin a chin; widening the cheeks isn’t quite what you would think needs to be done. Consider this as a computer problem, where one’s perception of what is right and wrong is compared.
It’s important to note that while Kinstler primarily worked with oils, a significant portion of his techniques are applicable to various media, including digital. The latter, however, is something I want to prove when I find the right pose. He employs a restricted range of colors.
Much of what emerges determines what should be emphasized in the painting. Although getting the face right is important, you also need to know how to use color to build it up without looking like a cutout. I hadn’t considered including the body and hands. Kinstler advises against overly active depictions of the body and hands, preferring instead to emphasize their significance without excessive detail. When you look at his paintings, they do have a look pretty close to photographs, even back in the early 1970s, and look distinctive.
If you thought doing a painting of anything was just a matter of filling a blank canvas, then you can blame school art classes for not teaching correctly. Depending on the subject matter, particularly when painting people, artists often utilize photographs, preliminary sketches, and even paintings to determine the necessary elements for the final piece. Kinstler’s skill in reproducing the same line or brushstroke and capturing it consistently is crucial, as it can be challenging to replicate the’magic’ of a preliminary design flawlessly each time.
Ah, then I came across chapter 12, ‘Copies and Replicas’. A copy refers to creating a duplicate of your own work, while a replica is typically a rendition of a deceased artist’s work. Interestingly, the technique he uses is a variation of how comicbook artists do it when they don’t use a pentograph, doing a tracing of the lines on tracing paper, soft pencil the back, and tracing it over. Even then, this technique serves only as a foundation, as everything else relies on the matching of colors.
At the back of the book, Kinstler does three demonstrations, and you see how he builds his pictures up. If you paint, then his technique is familiar. He blocks in the colors and builds up the tones and details. He notes that generally, he completes a portraiture in a few mornings, mostly because he wants the right lighting conditions. If I were to replicate this digitally, I would meticulously build up each level on a separate layer, carefully selecting the appropriate digital brush to achieve the desired stroke.
If you simply want to view some of Kinstler’s paintings, you can still find this book online. He really is that good.
GF Willmetts
August 2024
(pub: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1971. 176 page illustrated indexed large hardback. Price: varies. ISBN: 0-8230-3820-3)
