Capturing a personality

Published: 11:17 AM September 28, 2006 Updated: 10:18 PM February 22, 2021

YVES Messer is a portrait painter who has been based in Ely for the past four years. He has 20 years experience in art, design, publishing and portrait painting and has had a number of successful exhibitions in France, Belgium and the United States. Yves

YVES Messer is a portrait painter who has been based in Ely for the past four years. He has 20 years' experience in art, design, publishing and portrait painting and has had a number of successful exhibitions in France, Belgium and the United States.

Yves works in traditional oil paint, but he uses a linen canvas, which he says guarantees excellent and long lasting results. What makes the paintings unique is not only Yves' ability to paint or draw the likeness of the subject, but his ability to capture and reflect their personality. Yves, who mainly works from photographs, said: "If it is possible I like to meet the person as well."

"It helps me to get a sense of what they are like and I can make a few simple sketches in my studio."

Using photographs reduces the time involved in producing the portrait, it also cuts down on the cost.

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"I tell people that they don't have to be posh to commission a portrait. My rates are very reasonable and many people are surprised when they find out the price."

Yves can also produce a set of postcards of the portrait, an ideal way to show the finished work to friends and family. There is something special about a painting Yves explained: "Art is not merely expression; it must also be transmission. Transmission of the person's character, personality and soul to future generations."