Slideshow: Anna Magruder Paints Faces

Tracey Whitney | January 31, 2012

Courtesy of Anna Magruder

Anna Magruder loves to paint faces.

"The face is the most exciting part for me to paint. I’m just so drawn to faces, it’s what keeps me painting," she says.

Magruder looks at vintage photographs to get inspiration for her art, selecting images of people with interesting facial expressions or poses. "I love exploring the relationship between the characters," she says.

Magruder used to paint stylized facial expressions in her art, but since she began imitating vintage photographs, her work has taken on a much more realistic look. But don’t be fooled — Magruder doesn’t copy the photos exactly. In fact, one of the things that she loves most about interpreting old black and whites is that she gets to choose the colors.

Sometimes she will paint with muted tones and then add a zing of red or orange to create a dramatic pop of color. "I really like redheads... I like when, within those muted colors, there’s this redhead… I guess it kind of reflects their personality."

Formerly a graphic designer, Magruder decided to start painting faces full time when she was no longer inspired by her earlier career. She admits that getting exposure for her painting is hard, though. In one day she’ll drive around to many different venues in order to keep her artwork on display.

Her hard work is paying off; Magruder can barely keep up with the current commission orders coming her way. Clients are sending her sentimental photographs from their personal collections to be re-created in paint.

At this point, Magruder is uncertain about where her career as a professional artist is headed, but wherever it leads her, she says, "I betcha I’ll be painting people still — and faces. Gotta have those faces in there."

Learn more about Anna Magruder this week on Oregon Art Beat.