This is your portal to all of the galleries of Jessica Rockwell’s realistic portraits. From here you can reach six galleries. First is “Photo to Painting” which shows the reference photo next to the painting. Then there are five sections of oil portraits. Lastly, there is one of charcoal portraits. You can click on them here:
• Photo to Painting
• Oil Portraits
Children Oil Portraits
Teen Oil Portraits
Family Oil Portraits
Oil Portraits of Men and Women
Pet Oil Portraits
• Charcoal Portraits
• Posthumous Portraits
Growing up in a family that supported her interest to be an artist, and additionally inspired by a famous cousin, Norman Rockwell, Jessica Rockwell has this to say about:
Why I Make Portraits
I like to see the development as I add more and more paint in a systematic manner. The deep understanding and aesthetics of the subject shine through. I keep adding rightnesses, points of exact duplication, to my canvas and then all at once the portrait starts to have a life of its own. The sphere of capturing the essence of the subject has been entered.
At this point, all who view the portrait perceive a presence because it does seem to have one. Of course, those who know the person represented also get a special lift of excitement. I’ve captured a unique quality of a moment in time—a timeless realm with no beginning and no end. It just is.
I want a person viewing my portraits to sense the spiritual aspect of my subject and then to recognize that there is more to life than just physical structure. Viewers could then look at a portrait of mine and appreciate an excitement. They could feel more alive themselves because of this sensation. I want my portraits to inspire people so that they feel good and beautiful and sensitive themselves. Then, feeling good, they have a better day and they make others feel better too.
I think that is the duty of artists: to help men and women to bypass their pain and their troubles by startling them with uncompromising beauty. This results in people being able to look at their surroundings with fresh eyes and make perceptive decisions about their futures.
Isn’t it a double blessing that all this can be obtained from a specially created portrait of a person that you love?