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Portraiture: Fine Art for Your Home

Shannon Leiner

When we think about portraiture art, a few famous images spring without consent to the forefront of our minds. Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. We all know deeply, intrisically, that a human form, a human face, is art.


Now take a minute to think about your home. What’s on your walls? Do you hang artwork? Pictures of the family? Funny quotes in frames? An artistic rendering of your cat in regal attire?


Any picture you hang with any person is also art. You may already be utilizing portraiture art in your home and not realize it.


Answer one last question: Is there any reason an artistic portrait of yourself can’t be art in the same way we marvel over others?


Why not take the initiative to make your artwork personal and have that portrait done of yourself or a loved one? Or, to take it one step further by doing a creative shoot, you can express yourself in ways you maybe haven’t yet had the opportunity. 


Now you have something tangible, a moment frozen in time, to pass down in your family if you choose. And an artistic portrait of yourself can help fight the demons away when self-doubt creeps in. Of course, you’re beautiful. Look, you’re right there.


I believe that you are art. The way your eyes crinkle when you smile—the mole on your shoulder. The murder smirk on your face as you ruffle your “no, officer, I haven’t seen my husband since yesterday” robe about my studio. What makes the Girl with a Pearl Earring any more art than you?


I’m in the business of reflection. Both literally and figuratively (haha, refracting light joke). I don’t do heavy editing on photos. I don’t modify your form or change the beauty of you. I’m not interested in displaying a version of you that you could be; you’re more than enough already.

 

So no matter where you go to get your portrait taken or what theme you decide to explore, the important takeaway is to invest in that moment for yourself and display it proudly for what your home is. Remember that you are the artwork because you are the beauty an artist wants to capture.




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