House Portrait Painter - Michael Reyes

1. How did you become a house portrait painter? Is there a particular skill you would say you have?

"I have alway had the ability to draw. As a kid I loved to doodle and draw cartoons. I took mechanical drawing and learned how to technically draw buildings to scale. This skill helps me to sketch the house to scale before I begin painting on paper."

2. How would you describe your work?

"I would say I have a realistic style, yet I try to be as loose as possible to give the painting some feeling...I experiment with different techniques, such as subtle splattering."

3. What are your interests outside of painting?

"I enjoy many sports, love to golf and play softball. I also enjoy cooking, and have been known to serve up a mean calzone or two."

4. Tell us a few things about yourself...your background in drawing/painting as a child, etc.

"I really began to paint seriously about 20 years ago, initially starting with pen and ink house sketches. I had a very positive response to these and I started painting with watercolor for house portraits, and acrylics for landscapes. I did not have any formal training or lessons; just subscribed to American Artist magazine for inspiration and information. Experimenting with techniques along the way helped to develop my style. And, practice, practice, practice is so important. You have to keep working at it. You don't want an architectural rendering...you have to play with the brush strokes to make it look like a painting."

5. What talent would you like to explore?

"I would like to learn oil painting and possibly paint in a more impressionistic style."

6. What would your colleagues (fellow artists) be surprised to learn about you?

"I am into landscaping and enjoy working outdoors, taking care of trees, shrubs, and flowers. I especially love cutting sod - not!"

7. What most inspires you when you are creating a painting?

"I enjoy painting New England scenes, the ocean, and the coast."

8. What are your creative ambitions and what are some obstacles to those ambitions?

"I would like to have more time to be able to make more portraits...right now I work on two hour or so shifts- with maybe an hour here and there. A big frustration is the lack of enough 'free' time in a day. I tend to work on larger size paintings- 11" x 14" or larger, as they work up faster than the smaller paintings...Some day I would love to have a house on Cape Cod with my own studio space and plenty of time to paint!"

9. What do you most admire in yourself?

"I consider myself a peaceful and happy person. And I believe less is better than more in life. I enjoy making people happy with beautiful portraits of their important investment-their home."

Check out examples of Michael Reyes work at www.mrhouseportrait.com, and for specific details about ordering an original painting.