Curtis favors “hot” colors, vivid hues that bring a lot of emotion to his works. He realizes that painting is an emotional experience for both the creator and the viewer — and uses that to his advantage.
The artist shapes the layers of paint into something that’s all at once recognizable and unrecognizable, a feast for the senses. He thrives working on large canvases, making the subjects of his modern portraits bigger than life.
As frenetic as his paintings may sound, Curtis sticks to a schedule and routine while painting. His techniques are rooted in classical skills of glazing, which entails working with many layers of oil paint and linseed oil on one canvas. This skill leaves his paintings with a thick, multi-layered, and almost touchable nature.
Curtis also starts his artistic day at 6 in the morning. He cleans up his mess from the previous workday and listens to music to get back into the groove of creating art. For portraits, he works from a photograph. He also doesn’t shy away from starting pieces without finishing the pervious one, working on as many as 15 canvases at the same time.
Put your own personal stamp on your artwork by taking a class on portrait painting. Instruction will focus on using different mediums, such as watercolor, acrylic, and oil paints, to capture a subject. Even if you have little to no background in art, personalized lessons will show you the basic techniques of making a likeness of your subject.