Houses

Houses for portraits

House portraits are becoming increasingly popular as paintings. For some they are a celebration of the beauty of the architecture and for others the house portrait is a statement of the home they are proud of. Whatever the reason, people are more aware of their surroundings. Some express the pleasure they get from the look of the exterior of their home, by bringing the image of it into the interior.

This is not a new phenomenon as house portraits of big country houses and mansions were produced for centuries.
It was a luxury for the aristocracy and the rich and powerful, but today it is attainable for anyone who has the desire to commission an artist. For those that want more than just a photograph, they have a painting or drawing produced of their favourite building or home.

Drawings of houses come in various different mediums such as graphite pencil, colour pencils, conte’, ink and occasionally in pastel. Ink and watercolour wash is commonly used as a combination of mediums to produce a pleasing artwork. Watercolour on its own is a popular medium for many people who commission a painting of their home, although it is restricted to a paper surface only.

Acrylic paints are a favourite for a lot of artists when painting buildings, as they dry rapidly and layers are achieved very quickly. This technique is ideal when painting buildings that have a lot of shadows. Paintings of houses in acrylics can be painted on many different substrates, such as canvas, gesso panels, board or paper.

Although oils take longer to dry, these too can be painted on many different substrates and are perfect for painting portraits of buildings. Examples of this can be seen in the works of Edward Hopper whose artwork of buildings and light is outstanding. His use of oil paint depicts the solid nature of the buildings and the softness of light, showing the medium at its best.