Balinese Girlie Glam Dancer
by Traci Bautista
acrylic on mixed-media paper
14" × 11" (36cm × 28cm)
“I’ve been creating faces in my art since I was in high school. I paint both realistic and whimsical ‘girlie-glam’ faces.”
—Traci Bautista
“Ever since I was a wee lad making scary monsters out of crayons and finger paint. That said, I didn’t start messing around with the style I currently work with until just after I graduated from college … collage? … I collaged after I went to college.”
—Michael deMeng
“I was the ‘kid who could draw’ at school, and my first job was as a fashion illustrator, so I have been drawing faces both for fun and professionally all my life. I am often asked if I draw anything other than girls’ faces. I can flip to unicorns, birds and a bear or two, but I love drawing female faces. (My personal theory is all my girls are, in fact, mermaids.)”
—Jane Davenport
Sketched Face
by Dina Wakley
acrylic, pen and water-soluble crayon on journal paper
9" × 111⁄2" (23cm × 29cm)
“I always said I couldn’t draw. One year I thought, ‘Why can’t I?’ So I set about to teach myself. I’ve been drawing faces for about two years.”
—Dina Wakley
Journal Page
by Violette Clark
Micron pen, Copic markers, pencil, crayon, acrylic and spray ink on cardstock
11" × 81⁄2" (28cm × 22cm)
“Pretty much forever, ever since I was a child of about nine years old, beginning with Twiggy. I love creating faces best of all. It’s the subject I return to again and again.”
—Violette Clark
Eyes Like the Sea
by Misty Mawn
oil on primed wood panel
12" × 9" (30cm × 23cm)
“I have been painting, drawing and sculpting faces since I was a young child, working with whatever medium was available to me. I have always wanted to be an artist, and portraying faces was what I was first and still am drawn to. Looking back at some of my earlier work amuses and compels me to keep pushing forward to become a better artist. The progress from good, hard work continues to stay true, and I am grateful for that.”
—Misty Mawn
“About twelve years ago, I began including faces more regularly in my mixed-media artwork. I was making art that focused on positive affirmations that uplift and encourage people to think loving and positive thoughts about themselves and their lives. I’d been painting landscapes and flowers and wanted to include the human figure with emphasis on the face. The human face has always fascinated me, and I often find myself focusing with wonder on the features and expressions of the people I meet.”
—Cindy Silverstein
“I drew a lot as a child, and my favorite thing to paint was faces. When I took up art again after many years, I painted a lot of faces, many of them of women artists of the past. As an adult, I’ve been doing portraits, among other subjects, for about twenty years. I started out painting faces and still lifes on muslin fabric, using fabric paints. This evolved into acrylic on canvas and then to oil on canvas or board.”
—Serena Barton
Talking to Myself
by Jane Spakowsky
mixed media on 300-lb. (640gsm) watercolor paper
301⁄2" × 23" (77cm × 58cm)
“As long as I’ve been making art—my whole life—but primarily over the last eight years or so.”
—Jane Spakowsky
“I started painting eleven years ago, and within that first year I started painting faces. Of course, they’ve changed a lot over the years and continue to evolve and change as long as I’m growing as an artist. When I look back, I still see the relationship between my earlier, more primitive faces and those of today.”
—Katie Kendrick
“My fascination with faces began in high school art classes. I could spend endless hours drawing features over and over again, especially eyes. I’ve been creating faces in my work for as long as I have been working as an artist. Typically the face is the starting point for me, with the rest of the elements falling into place to enhance the portrait and tell the story.”
—Andrea Matus deMeng