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johnpaulthornton — Missing Child Portrait 28
Published: 2008-07-10 02:55:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 15112; Favourites: 369; Downloads: 295
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Description
Portrait of a missing boy.Inspired by the one-inch square black and white photo printed on a "Have You Seen me...?" mailer.
What is the proper way to paint a missing child?
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Comments: 116
This is beautiful, this is an actual missing kid right? I think I've seen him on the news somewhere...
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This is amazing, I honestly dont think I could ever get close to finishing a picture like this because it would be so upsetting every time I worked on it. Fantastic.
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That is the sensation I feel, indeed.
Thank you.
John Paul
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I love the coloring and the facial expression of the child 
This painting is one of the most beautiful portraits I've ever seen.
You imply the soft smile of this boy also very well and together with the expression of those clear blue eyes, which seem to give life to the portrait, these elements give the painting a kind of pureness and innocence.
Fantastic job.
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sry for my bad english >_<
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i wish i could pull off color contrast like you can. and i just love your style of painting overall.
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What a lovely face.. a very good piece, I have to say. And I'm moved by the story behind it. Keep doing this, it's really good!
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Your painting technique is admirable. I hope to develop my technique to yours someday! And powerful subject. You captured it perfectly.
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i typed in "portrait" into the search thing and was going through the results and none of them grabbed me like this one. There's something in this that really draws me to it. Its a strange feeling because I love the work but knowing that its a missing child makes it confusing.
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of all your paintings, this one is my favorite. I'm not sure why, probably something about his eyes... they're very innocent and young. i dont understand how anyone could harm a child, or take them away from their families, probably from personal experience. not that i've ever known a missing child, buti saw my aunt's face after the death of her youngest son, whom i thought of as a brother. she was completely devastated by it. so i can imagine what these families go through, which is why what you and artists like you do seems so beautiful. i was wondering if you knew how many of the missing children have been found again,aside from jaycee dugard.how does it feel painting them? sad, or hopeful? or both?
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I had to think about the question for while. But I'm going to take a stab at an answer.
With heart.
Each of these missing children are a part of us somehow - we are all related, not in blood but in spirit. Its no matter if we know them personally or not, we are all connected somehow, and when a child goes missing, we all stand together as one to call them back home.
Thank you for another wonderful, hope inspiring piece.
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I think it's a cute little boy. The picture makes me sad tho. It should, so that's okay. I feel bad for the child's mother.
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It was an amazing but haunting effect this picture gave me. Because its not sharp, and it seems blured it gave an effect that said in the child's voice "am here but unreachable." I can't stop looking at it, so many thoughts, concepts buzz though my head. I can see the child cold alone in some abandoned building deep from reach, his bright blue eyes begging me to save him.
He will cry when he realises I can do nothing more than many others...
These pieces open eyes to the fact our children of today are in such danger. It inspires me to draw my feeble writing skills to write a piece, draw paint! But fuck it all this piece it wonderful and I would feel so honoured for even one piece to be in my favourites. Sorry for giving you a paragraph and a half here, but work like this desevres this and so much more.
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These are paintings of hope.
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I see that now... I will pray for these children. Thank you.
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That's what I am compelled by...
"properness".
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Your work is absolutely stunning, and your motivation even more so. They seem almost hidden in your work, although they're in plain sight. This is a very moving collection~
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thank you for your kind and thoughtful words.
-John Paul
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Your eager work really paid off.
I think this is the best one so far.
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Such a burst of strong emotions and close observations is wonderfully depicted by your style! Sweet children of our planet, believe in your dreams!
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Thank you for your emotive and poetic response.
Your own gallery indicates that you have a future full of artistic possibilities and creative power.
-John Paul
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Thank you for appreciating the missing children!
I love your portraits!
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What a sweet face.
Such lovely, vibrant colours.
Tragically beautiful.
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Don't worry...
You will have two new little warm eyes looking at you soon, yes?
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Yes, i hope those surreal eyes will be coming soon...i shall treasure each moment i will have with my new love...
Warm regards to you and your family...
Gromyko
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he looks so young and so alive here... but the eyes look less sparkly than your previous ones.
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sometimes when eyes sparkle, it's such a payoff. The viewer has "closure". The sparkle sets off the piece and there is a kind of "completion".
Without the sparkle, the art can linger "unresolved" and resonate deeper because there is no release.There is no "completion."
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i see...so you want people to ponder just a bit more, instead of thinking without depth?
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Well, I am sure that viewers are already thinking with depth,
...what I mean is, when I paint these portraits, they are from postage stamp sized photos.. The eyes are sometimes just little dots, or smears, so I am able to enhance and interpret them as I sense they need to be in order to best express the presence of the child.
I get the eye color from the text on the mailer, but the "life" in the eye is never visible in the reference photo. Sometimes I add the glint in the eyes to make them "pop" or have "sparkle"
Other times, like for this portrait, I held back.
For me as a painter, that "sparkle" or highlight in the eye is like the exclaimation point at the end of a sentence. Or to use another analogy, the "punchline" of a story.
By NOT putting the exclaimation point in, there is a "quieter", subdued sense, I think. The viewer gets something else: anticipation, longing for something.
I went to a Rembrandt portrait exhibition here in Los Angeles a few years ago, filled with Rembrandt's portraits of saints from the Bible. Now, everyone talks about the "soul" in Rembrandt's portraits, the life-like quality, the realism...
I was blown away by the fact that not a single portrait by Rembrandt had highlights in the eyes. Not a single one.
Think of that!
So instead of shiny, sparkly eyes, the master presented us with....eyes that were deep, bottomless pits. There was nothing to give me the resolution, the exclaimation point telling me that Rembrandt was "done" with his sentence. Instead, I was left to linger...waiting.I was under his spell, and Rembrandt would not break it. I had to tear myself away from each artwork.
I realized this and am beginning to try this technique more in my own paintings.
( If you're gonna steal, might as well steal from Rembrandt...)
Thank you for reading my response here. I re-read it and realise how my passion for paint can become so protracted and crazed...
Anyway, you asked and here is my behind-the scenes answer.
John Paul
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Oh passion for art is a great thing. It's not a crazed answer - more like an explanation - and a very clear one, too. For an art student, this is an insight as we need to annotate our work - so this is a very thorough response.
I understand the sparkle and point about the ending. i hope that the child finds a happy ending.
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I never know what to say whenever I comment on these because by the time I get to them everyone's comments are always so profound. It really is amazing that you use your talent for such a cause. Good job on this one, the colors really grabbed my attention.
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To hell with profundity.
I'll take directness and honesty.
thank you so much...
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