Portrait Paintings vs. Portrait Photography

As I was making a sketch of Marie Antoinette for my digital painting, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated about the lack of references I have of her. The only references I could find are paintings of her. Paintings are not like photos. Photos tell you exactly what the person, or subject, looks like. That’s what portrait paintings lack because artists have their own impression of the subject that they’re painting, and it’s only natural that it’s what they will apply on their canvas. That’s the reason why, even though I’m grateful to the painters for giving me a hint of how Marie Antoinette looked like, I find the fact that I don’t have any reliable reference of her exasperating. Nevertheless, I did the best I could with the references that I already have.


Here's my first attempt at making a portrait of Marie Antoinette:

Here's my second attempt:

Pinup Art

I created this artwork as a commemoration of the 50’s pinup. Sometimes it is referred to as "vintage pinup". I want to make more pinup illustrations as soon as I have enough time. For now, here's a sneak preview of what I'm going to do, and I will make sure to get better with it. There will be more to come! By the way, it’s done in both Photoshop and Illustrator CS3.

The Help

Since I like stories inspired by historical events, I decided to watch this movie. Also, I was really curious about the story; how it will go and where it is going. I, personally, avoid drama movies but I liked this one. There are funny parts, too, so it’s not all about tears, like I expected in most drama stories. There are heartbreaking parts but, at the end of the story, there’s a feel of hope. It’s a very good movie to watch.

Avatar for my recipe site

I created this today for my recipe blog http://mealsonlinerecipes.blogspot.com/. This is purely done in Illustrator. 

Creamy Mediterranean Spicy Beef Recipe

Ingredients:

2 ½ tbsp of olive oil

2 tbsp of McCormick® coriander powder

McCormick® marjoram

McCormick® dried oregano

Black pepper

2 sliced tomatoes (seeds removed)

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 onion finely chopped

2 whole jalapeños

1 can of sliced button mushrooms

½ kg foreshank beef, thinly sliced

250ml of cream

Salt to taste

How to cook:

In a bowl, sprinkle salt, marjoram, black pepper and dried oregano on the thinly sliced beef and mix them well. Set aside. In a skillet, sauté garlic in olive oil until golden brown and add the chopped onion. Next, add the tomatoes. Add the mushrooms. Add the coriander powder, a sprinkle of marjoram, a bit of salt, black pepper and oregano. Mix them well. Next, add the beef to the skillet mixture. Stir all the ingredients in the heated skillet until the herbs and spices are evenly distributed on the beef. Put a lid on the skillet and let the beef’s water come out. Let it boil, slowly. Stir it from time to time until the water evaporates. When there’s little water left, add the cream. Lower the heat and stir until the sauce is thick. Good for 7 servings.


(For more of my recipes, go to: http://mealsonlinerecipes.blogspot.com)