I recently bought myself a set of acrylic paints – red, yellow, blue, white and black – with the intention of creating some larger paintings for my Mapping Suprematism project. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to gain more experience with colour mixing by working directly from the primaries.
The Mapping Suprematism plan ended up going on hold as I had a crazy idea to try and paint a portrait. The below piece, Tolga, is the end result.

The reason I said it was a crazy idea is because I’ve never painted a portrait before. Plus, the last time I used acrylics would have been 16 or more years ago in school (although I don’t actually remember doing so).
Considering the challenge I gave myself, and my lack of experience, I am really pleased with the outcome. Of course, there are lots of things I could work on and do better – the teeth being the most prominent – but as far as first attempts go, I don’t think I could have wished for anything better.
If you would like to see more artwork you can check out my Instagram page.
Well done Tom
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