Portraits

A commissioned portrait will stand the test of time and the memory you immortalise on canvas will be a treasure for years to come. This must be one of the most personal gifts anyone could be given.

My Portrait Technique

One of the constant attractions I find in portrait work is the magical moment when the inanimate materials of pigment and oils turn into a living painting. A careful flick of white suddenly becomes the glint in a person’s eye or a subtle stroke of shade becomes the start of a smile. It is the combination of both art and craft that produces a successful portrait.

I can work from both a traditional ‘sitting’, photographs, or a combination of both, whatever is convenient for you. My preferred medium is oil, painted on linen canvas. Any other questions please let me know.

All the best.

Mark

A Future Treasure

Portrait painting has once again established itself as an important record for our modern age. The photographic image has become an unsatisfying, disposable item, typified in glossy throw-away magazines or ‘never to be printed’ pictures on your digital cameras. People are now looking for a more permanent record of their loved ones.

Portraits start from £1000

Portraits are fixed in time and space, at a select angle of vision, and yet need to convey intensity and be revealing. They should have impact at a single glance, and compel the observer to return again and again. The portrait should display the likeness of the subject, but also allow character and personality [what Leonardo da Vinci called "the motions of inner mind"] to show through.

To commission a painting, portrait or discuss any project, please leave me a message and I'll get straight back to you.

Many Thanks

Mark

Commissioned Portraits Undertaken

Beautifully Painted in Oils

On the Finest Italian Linen

A true family tradition

Skirving's portrait of Robbie Burns 1796

Skirving 250 Years of Fine British Portraiture

Mark Skirving

Self Portrait 2010

Archibald Skirving 1749-1819 Self Portrait 1790

Portrait of Helen 2013