Hilary Bryanston

Hilary Bryanston has been painting portraits of people since the late 1970s. Her work includes adults, children, and animals and has been shown at numerous locations. Here she speaks about her art:-

I discovered that my ability to paint portraits improved rapidly when I began to learn direct stone carving an also to work in clay. My awareness of the third dimension enabled me to draw solid shapes with more conviction.

Of course, it is infinitely more interesting to have a live sitter - so long as they are able to keep still. Working from photographs is another option. Again, this carries its own hazards. Clients rarely present me with good quality photographs and sometimes ask me to take a few years off the sitter. Snapshots invariably show the sitter grinning. This may be a criteria for a good portrait photograph although it does not work at all well in a painting.

Then there is the dilemma about photography. Photography is not truth. Looking at portraits made before the age of photography and the camera obscura - the great artists painted their sitters' charisma and spirituality as well as their likeness.

Hilary Bryanston - Artist's Statement

Portrait Gallery

Henry With Pisces, oil on canvas. Size 53.5cm x 38cm. Painted from life in my Moseley studio in 1984

Little John, oil on canvas, 1976. Size 36cm x 43.5 cm

Self portrait 1986. Painted from life using two mirrors. 68 x 104 cms. Oil on canvas

Portraits by Hilary Bryanston

Angel With Blue Wings - oil on canvas, 30cm x 30cm