Alan King

“A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.”  Oscar Wilde.

Oh, for goodness sake, Oscar, you know that’s not true. The lives of women are written on their faces, too. No amount of makeup or plastic surgery will turn their (and some men’s) stories into beguiling fiction and the older we get the more legible the calligraphy. Like it or not, our faces are sculpted biographies.

I paint portraits, lots of them. I’ve been doing it for years and, yes, there are people whose faces are a mask. But the mask usually reveals as much as it disguises. Think of Jared and Ivanka for a moment — bear with me — and consider the affectless, vacant demeanors they present. Meant to conceal, they proclaim the languid hubris of the preposterously entitled.

It’s a truism that a great portrait artist, whether a painter or a photographer, will capture the essence of his subject’s personality: his or her intelligence or lack thereof, wit, willfulness, arrogance, humility. The essential person will be revealed using the simple tools of paintbrush, oil and canvas.

It’s a lot to ask. But one only has to look at the work of the great masters – Rembrandt, Annigoni, Sargent – to know that it can be done. There are artists working today where that quality and insight is only a few brushstrokes away.

I’m not there yet, but with each painting I get a little closer.

Please contact me if you’d like to commission a portrait: alanking641@gmail.com

Andrew Absil – The new Bishop of Toronto – 30″ x 24″ – oil on canvas

Andrew Absil – The new Bishop of Toronto – 30″ x 24″ – oil on canvas

Young Girl – 12″ x 10″ – Oil on Canvas

André – Oil on canvas – 20″ x 16″

Barry Padolsky, architect

Bonnie

Biblical Job – 10 x 8 – charcoal sketch

Blue and Pink – 18″ x 16″ – Oil on Canvas

Ralph and Nuala

Elizabeth Kilbourn

Connie

Leonard Lee, Founder of Lee Valley Tools

Bill MacPherson

Jamie and son

Ron Tysick

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 A quick portrait sketch in oil on canvas.

Video by Chloe King

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Landscapes and Still Lifes

Hazelton Avenue – 24″x30″ – Oil on canvas – $3,000.00

Hazelton Avenue on wall

Hazelton Avenue on wall

Queen Street West – 18″x36″ – oil on canvas – $1,200.00

Queen Street West – Framed

Morning Birches – 24″ x 30′”- oil on canvas – $1,200.00

Beach Stones – 24″ x 30″ – Oil on board – $1,200.00

Beach Stones installed

On to Tofino – $1,200.00

Near Revelstoke – $800.00

Snow Grotto – Framed – $500.00

Snow Grotto – Framed – $500.00

Caribbean Blue – 12″ x 12″ – oil – $400.00

Show Off – 12″ x 12″ – oil on wood – $400.00

Cornucopia – 12″ x 12″ – Oil on board – $400.00

South America – 14″ x 11″ – Oil – $300.00

Geological Time – 10.5″ x 29.5″ – oil on board – $1,500.00

Too thin. Too rich – Oil on birch panel – 20″ x 20″ – $1,500.00

Blue Saskia – Oil on birch panel – 6″ x 6″ – $200.00

Blue Saskia (on the wall) – Oil on birch panel – 6″ x 6″ – $200.00

Farm, Navarrenx, France – $400.00

Les Poires – Framed – $500.00

Open Water – $400.00

“Too Rough” – $1,400.00 – Framed

The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus in San Sebastian, Spain – – $1,500.00

Johnston Canyon, Banff – 20″ x 16″ – Oil on panel

Birth of Venus – 12″x12″ – Oil on panel

Florida Rock – 6″ x 6″ – Oil on wood

Near Navarrenx, France – Framed

Near Navarrenx, France – in situ

Tangerine – Oil on panel – 12″ x 10″

Sidelit – Oil on Birch panel – 10″ x 10″

Last Light – 8″ x 10″ – Oil on board – Framed

Air Rites – Oil on board – 10″ x 10″ –

Figure 89 – 24″ x 24″ – Oil and acrylic on board

White Rose – 6″ x 6″ – Oil

Stones – 14″ x 22″ – Oil

Snow Glyphs – Oil on Wood – 8″ x 8″ NFS

Alcove – Oil on board – 8″ x 8″ – NFS

Cabin in Winter – 16″ x 20″ – oil on canvas

Meech Lake – Oil on Canvas – 24″ x 36″

Wakefield, QC – Oil on canvas – 16″ x 20″

Left at the Light – Oil on Canvas – 16″ x 20″

Tangerine – 10″x 10″ – oil on board

Osgoode Hall Winter – Oil on canvas – 14″ X 11″

Dognen France at Twilight – 8″ x 10″ – Oil on Linen

Avenue Road from Balmoral – Oil on board — 24″ x 48″

Oil on board – 36″ x 18″

Near Pau, France – 24″ x 36″ – oil on canvas

Beach Stones- Grand Manan – Oil on canvas – 52″ x 52″

Grand Manan #3 – Oil on Wood – 8″ X 8″

Grand Manan #2 – Oil on Wood – 8″ X 8″

Poppies – Oil on canvas – 16″ x 20″

Down Under – 24″ X 24″ – Oil on board – $700.00

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