Gayln contemporary Portrait by dan terry in Austin

This larger than life contemporary acrylic portrait commission is a modern take on portraiture where color is subdued, brushwork is almost pointilism and composition is more like a closeup photographic selfie than a traditional portrait. One interesting aspect of this work is the palette is comprised of just 4 colors, Black, White, Burnt Umber and Thalo Blue. The pinks seen in the work is pure optical illusion (no pinks nor reds were used) and the brown of the burnt umber pigment optically looks pink due to the eye's wanting to see flesh tones that appear only due to the law of complementary contrast by the intense blues in the eye forcing the surrounding grey and brown to shift perceptually toward red. The large work at 48x60" has a compelling and powerful effect when viewed at full size at 5 times larger than life.