Capturing The Beautiful Mystery Of Someone
The non-verbal cues of a portrait
A couple of weeks ago, I posted one of my latest portraits here on Substack and mentioned how beautiful it is to freeze a face in time through art. Creating an image of someone that lasts for generations is remarkable, and it allows the mind to speculate about a person and their life. Is the Mona Lisa really that spectacular? Or is there something in particular about the facial expression in that painting that has captivated people for hundreds of years? This thought has stuck with me, and I started to realize why I’ve personally been so drawn to faces for so long: it’s the mystery they hold.
When I began my journey in photography over a decade ago, my focus was on portraiture. I had no idea why I was so drawn to photographing faces at the time, but it just felt right. As the years went on, I began to realize how much you can learn about someone through a single photograph—especially if you’re able to capture an organic expression. The act of taking a picture felt like magic then, and it still feels like magic now. Freezing a frame of a face—a single moment in time that gives you a glimpse into who someone is without knowing their entire story. At times, I feel like a wizard from Hogwarts, and my magic wand is the camera.
Now that I’m drawing portraits regularly again, my fascination with the mystery of people has only deepened as I’m forced to examine the smallest details of faces and figures when creating a piece. When looking at a reference photo that I’m about to draw, I often wonder what was happening in the moment the image was taken. How was the person feeling? Was this a genuine moment, or were they posing? What does this image say about the individual? The questions are endless, yet my goal is always to capture the essence of someone, whether I’m drawing one person or multiple people.
And on that note, here are a few of the latest commissioned portraits I’ve made (more coming soon!)
One of my favorite portraits that I’ve created. I really love the gaze in this mans eyes.
MY FIRST INTERNATIONAL, PORTRAIT COMMISSION!
This piece of a mother and her son is my first international portrait commission. It was such a joy to create and it’s headed off to Vienna, Austria!
I announced a few weeks ago that I’m now drawing couples portraits and this is my first one. This is a drawing of the Samkoma founders and their adorable pup. Samkoma is an international creativity concierge and I’m thrilled to be working with them on future projects where I’ll be creating hand-drawn portraits for some of their clients who are getting married.
Or shoot me a direct email to discuss a commission: pthorntonart@gmail.com
Some Recent Portrait Photography Work
Since I’m on the topic of capturing the mystery of someone, I thought I’d also share a few of my favorite portraits that I’ve taken over the past year. Each photograph captures a different mood and tells a different story about the person in it. What image are you most drawn to?
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from all of this, it’s that we’re all so beautifully different, interesting and mysterious in the smallest of ways. We all have weird little quirks and physical traits that make us one of a kind. That should be celebrated! From the subtle gestures we make to the tone of our voice and the way we present ourselves, it’s so fascinating, and I just love how different we all are. It makes life fun, so be YOU and embrace the mystery of others.
Anyway, I hope you’re doing well out there my fellow earthling. I have so much fresh art coming your way soon. Cant wait to share! As always, thank you for reading and for supporting my work.
Much Love,
Parker
Incredible!
Beautiful 😻