Male portrait painting /thoughts on self-image & beauty/

Portrait commissions are always something special. It doesn't matter if is a painting portrait commission or a photo portrait session there is always one human aspect, which I find really interesting. I am talking about the difference between the self-observation and the way others see us, the personal idea of how one looks like, the selective perception we all built through time.

I have to be honest that men have a more realistic idea of their own look than women do. Ladies want to be as perfect as possible, most men just take themselves as they are or often undervalue the quality of their look.

As a painter, who prefers mostly realistic portraits, this commission was something fresh and different. The clients were a lovely couple. They ordered two portraits in 2013 in a mix of abstract and pop art style. It was a nice experiment. This is the reason why I love commissions, they bring me out of my comfort zone and invite me on a new visual journey.

I guess the main reason for the female delusions in a big part of the world is simply a result of the modern mass media. The wish for big eyes, bigger lips, smaller nose, long lashes, no wrinkles are the classical female cases. We got used to highly photoshopped images of female faces and we often forget what is a real female face, can you be enough and really beautiful without makeup.

There are many other stages of the human history with different ideas of beauty. My work in research of tribal cultures brings me fast back to the ground, that all these ideas are pure illusions and trends of a circle of people.

Some of the most beautiful people I know don't have the biggest eyes, the most appealing mouth, or the smallest nose. Sometimes beauty is just a package, the result not only of the facial elements and their proportions but also the distance between them. This is one of the facts, which are very often forgotten in plastic surgery and one of the reasons many look uglier with a smaller nose or bigger lips.

Often we see people, who get very attractive when getting older, because they find more inner balance, more confidence and these values from within change also the visual results of the personal appearance.

I wish you all to love your face and body. The more you love them, the better they will serve you.

With love & light
Bella

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