Profile Portraits in a Variety of Historical Media
Silhouettists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries worked in a remarkable range of media: painting profiles on card, plaster and glass, embellishing black cuttings with white, gold or coloured paint, building up layers of tone and texture to add depth and three-dimensionality. These techniques were gradually abandoned as photography made such media obsolete, yet I’ve always loved the look and feel of such profiles.
This range of studio silhouettes represents my own exploration of those older methods. Each is based on techniques I researched while writing Mastering Silhouettes, my textbook on the art and history of silhouette portraiture, and each produces something quite different from the freehand paper cuttings I make at events.
How It Works
Each commission begins with a short online sitting, during which I make an initial freehand cutting and take reference photographs. I then complete the work in my studio at Mays Barn, using whichever technique you’ve chosen. The finished portrait is mounted and posted to you.
If you’d prefer a home visit rather than an online sitting, please mention this when you get in touch. This can sometimes be arranged for clients within easy reach of Reading and will make the whole experience more like posing for an eighteenth-century silhouettist.
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Embellished SilhouettesPrice range: £150.00 through £250.00 -
Painted SilhouettesPrice range: £150.00 through £250.00 -
En Grisaille MiniaturesPrice range: £300.00 through £500.00 -
Grey SilhouettesPrice range: £300.00 through £500.00 -
Full Colour Painted ProfilesPrice range: £450.00 through £700.00 -
Paper Collage SilhouettesPrice range: £450.00 through £700.00
Shades from the Past
The products shown here are those I can readily define and price in advance, but they’re far from the full range of what’s possible. I’ve spent nearly thirty years collecting and studying antique silhouettes, known at the time as “shades”, and have experimented with techniques that go well beyond this list. If you have a particular style or medium in mind – or perhaps wish to match the style of an antique shade of an ancestor in your own collection – please get in touch and I’ll tell you whether it’s possible.
You might also find inspiration in the Art Galleries, where you can see many of these techniques applied to my own studio projects.