Portraits on Paper

Going Home, Melissa Muehleisen, 2020

Going Home, Melissa Muehleisen, 2020, 16"x20" pastel on board

Born 5 Minutes, 2020, 16"x20" pastel on board

Born 5 minutes, 2020, 16"x20" pastel on board

First Real Clothes, 2020, 12"x16" pastel on paper

First Real Clothes, 2020, 12"x16" pastel on paper

Olivia, 2020, 11"x14" pastel on paper

Olivia, 2019, 11"x14" pastel on paper

Rainbow Baby, Olivia detail

Rainbow Baby, Olivia detail

Wedding Bliss, 2019, 16"x20" pastel on board

Wedding Bliss, 2019, 16"x20" pastel on board

Mmm...ch-locate 20"x24" Melissa Muehleisen, 2018

"Mmmmm...Ch-locate" 2018, 16"x20" pastel on board

Daddy's Eyes, 12"x16" Melissa Muehleisen, 2018

Daddy's Eyes, 2018, 12"x16" pastel on paper

Moment of Laughter 12"x16" Melissa Muehleisen, 2018

Innocent Happiness, 2018, 12"x16" pastel on paper

 

Elli's Beautiful Glow, 2019, 12"x16" pastel on paper

The Portrait Project

When I first graduated from college with my art degree in 2000 I painted portraits as a way to support myself. With my return to school for my Bachelor's and subsequent Masters degree in engineering, I found myself with less and less time to make art due to intense study time and found that on those rare occasions when I could create I wanted to make more expressive work like my figure drawings. However, during those years I maintained a vision in my head for the type of portrait I wanted to make: a photographic quality to the light and just the essential information to get the likeness across. 

In October 2017 I quit working in engineering and started focusing on my art. The year 2018 was a year of practice, learning and introspection for me. I wanted to incorporate manipulation of materials learned from my engineering work into my art and I quickly found my way toward abstraction. However, I have always enjoyed drawing and decided it was time to chase that vision of a limited information portrait that had been swimming in my head for so many years. This has led me to launch my 100 portraits project. This is the beginning.

For now, I am welcoming commissioned portraits as a way to complete my 100 portraits project. If you have been thinking about having a portrait created, I would love to talk more with you.