Stephen Fry has a new Job

Don't panic, he hasn't left the country to go and run Apple, but he has taken a sabbatical to become Pope for a day.

Pope Innocent the 10th that is - anything else would be marginally ridiculous.

Steven tweeted in the morning that he was sitting for a portrait painting to be done by a reformed forger - and attached a picture of him prepared in his robes, sitting, waiting (and presumably tweeting) in a courtyard.

For a bit of fun, I decided I'd have a go at recreating Valasquez's portrait of Pope Innocent using the picture Stephen posted. This was created with oils with an impasto effect, using a pallete to match the original painting. 

Visit the gallery if you'd like to buy a high resolution download or print of this image. 

Can beautiful painting help with body image?

Traditional Portraiture with implied nude

Surveys suggest the vast proportion of the population (especially women) have something they dislike about their body. In a way this is quite heart-breaking, because really, everyone is beautiful.

 There's a growing interest in "boudoir" photography and the way it empowers women to see their bodies in a new light and love themselves all the more. "Boudoir" consists of tasteful intimate portraiture that captures and shows-off personal beauty.

The growth in this type of portraiture is therefore not surprising with its ability to help people re-invent their body image. 

More-abstract portraiture (e.g. Matisse)

At brushstrok.es however, I think we can take it one step further.

With a painting we have the license to go beyond the image captured by the camera.

While many photographers will process their photos with soft focus and smoothed-skin effects, ultimately if these techniques are taken too far, the image no longer looks photographic or as realistic as one might expect.

 

These boundaries do not exist for paintings.

Indeed, a Brushstrokes painting *starts* from those very photos and takes them into the realms of your dreams and imagination. Texture, tones, shapes and lighting are all up for grabs. Realistic or impressionistic or abstract? Whatever your taste!

But either way, you are guaranteed to look utterly stunning and magical.

Why not try it now - send us your boudoir photo and we'll create a free sample painting for you that will take your breath away.