Category: Portraits - Sara Calcagno

Portrait study after Sargent

Novembre 9, 2020

Who doesn’t know the gorgeous portraits by John Singer Sargent?

He was a famous American painter, born in Massachusetts in 1820 and died in London in 1925. He is generally considered one if the most famous portrait painters of XIX Century.

His beautiful portraits speak for themselves. I’ve studied his painting technique and many of his portraits.

Among them there is this portrait of a woman with glasses. Her severe but ironic face is so interesting my interest was literally completely captured and I decided to copy it.

I made a painting using the wet on wet method, that is I painted it in one day and tried to maintain the fresh look of the original.

Hope you like it!

Portrait of Cassandra

Ottobre 23, 2020

di Sara Calcagno Portraits

I painted this portrait in 2017, after a painting workshop in Tuscany, that I organized with the wonderful American painter Michelle Dunaway

We were in Val d’Orcia, exactly in the property in which some of the most beautiful scenes of the movie “The Gladiator” were filmed. Do you remember the movie the Gladiator by Ridley Scott and starred by Russel Crowe?

We were in the Elysian fields of the movie, walking through the same secular alley of Cypressus trees and looking at the same fields where Maximus’ wife and son waited for him.

Cassandra, a splendid local girl that was modeling for us that day, playing the role of the Mediterranean and beautiful wife of Maximus Decimus Meridius.

An unforgettable demo by Michelle

I will never forget the morning of Michelle’s demo, and the atmosphere of the moment. The location was gorgeous, we were outside in the fields down under the alley of secular cypressus trees. Everything was simply astonishing and magic. The location was stunning, Michelle’s demo was great, the soundtrack of the movie was on, the dramatic light and the sky were fantastic, with the clouds moving fast in the sky and making the scene appear gorgeous as if we were on a stage with a gigantic bull’s eye lighning up now this hill now that one.

All this while Cassandra was standing proud and fierce looking faraway at the horizon, playing the rule better than a movie star.

That morning everything was breathtaking, wonderful and exciting and we were all very much inspired by the location, by the weather and by Cassandra. We made so many photoshoots and videos!!

Portrait after photos

One of these many photos became afterwards this particular portrait.

Normally I like very much to paint portraits by photos but only if I took personally the photos and if I spent some time with the model of the portrait. This is because, if I took personally the photos, when I make the portrait from those photos, I can feel the same emotions and vibrations I felt while shooting them. Emotions and vibrations are essential in painting.

Of course we cannot paint well if we don’t communicate emotions and we cannot communicate emotions if we don’t feel them ourselves..

Thank you

Thanks to Cassandra for beeing such an inspiring model. Since that day I asked Cassi to model for me many times and in many different occasions and she will be also present in the paintings I’m preparing right in this period.

And thanks to my dear friend and gorgeous artist Michelle Dunaway for being such a wonderful, inspiring and poetic painter always looking for beauty.

That was really an unforgettable workshop..

If you are interested in one of my paintings or you wish to receive more information about commissioning me a portrait, don’t hesitate to contact me by email or phone. Email: sara.calcagno@gmail.com Phone/WhatsApp ph. no. +39 348 9136889

After Rembrandt - Portrait of an Old Man - Sara Calcagno

Some thoughs about studying the Masters

Ottobre 19, 2020

di Sara Calcagno Portraits Studies

Like most of us, I love Rembrandt and his paintings..

In particular, I find his portraits particularly beautiful and intense and I totally love his technique! I like the thickness of his painting and the apparent roughness of his style in some points.

Rembrandt was certainly very modern for his times and I find his style sometimes really surprising and strong.

after rembrandt - old woman reading - sara calcagno — After Rembrandt – Old woman reading – Sara Calcagno

Because of my love for Rembrandt, a couple of years ago I decided to spend some time in making copies after some of his portraits. I decided to go small (all these paintings are no more than 11 x 8 inches big) and I gave myself only one day for each one of these portraits.

It was a real challenge but I had also a lot of fun

For a little painting like these ones, for studying the image and drawing it I spent at least three/four hours. Of course, if the painting was bigger I would have needed much more time!

I stand there looking at the image and drawing it until I was sure I liked the drawing and I perfectly understood the forms and the points on which I wanted to focus my attention both in the drawing and in the painting.

For me, these two steps are the most important ones, the ones in which I get in connection with the masterpiece. If I don’t analyze with attention the subject or if I go too fast with the drawing, this normally means to me making a bad painting or one without a soul. Painting needs time and concentration.

For coloring with oils little studies like these ones, I needed around another three/four hours. It was not so much time but again.. it was so only because these were very small paintings. If they were bigger, I would have certainly needed more time.

I find particularly helpful making copies after paintings I love. It helps me learning and making steps forward in my technique. I always say, that making copies after great Masters is like making a private lesson with a great painter. It is like getting intimate with him/ her. Sometimes you can even figure out what the Master had in mind when he made some technical choices and when this happens, it is gorgeous and exciting.

This little painting I did after Rembrandt is (like most of the little studies I made) a detail of a bigger painting. I wasn’t interested in making the copy of the whole painting. I only wished to focus on the portrait and, in particular, I wished to focus on the portrait of an old man as I really love as Rembrand painted old people. I think he could really capture old people’s soul.. These faces really speak to me and have some real magic.

Hope you like this copy of an old man after Rembrandt and, if you are a painter, I wish you happy inspiration and happy painting!

If you wish to receive more information about my paintings or you are interested in commissioning me a portrait, don’t hesitate to write me through WhatsApp or call me directly at the number +39 348 9136889