EVERY PORTRAIT IS AN OPPORTUNITY!

The last image we posted of Mark Balma's work received a large number of inquiries about his technique. It seemed appropriate to post another image of Mark's work, in this case a portrait of Maryann Graziano, begun in Italy using a classic 19th century technique inspired by the portraits of Ingres. As Mark notes: "Every portrait is an opportunity not only to record a person’s image with detail, feeling and expression but also to reflect the soul of the sitter – to look beyond the physical toward the spiritual." Mark uses Oil of Spike Lavender, Walnut Oil, and resin as his basic medium.