Ray Kinstler at the Portrait Society

If John Singer Sargent is the patron saint of the Portrait Society, Everett Raymond Kinstler is its elder statesman.

“There are three things that are important to art,” he says, “passion, imagination, and the means to communicate.”

“I can’t stress enough the importance of drawing from life,” Kinstler reminds the audience during his remarks from the podium.

He is preaching to the choir. There are sketchbooks out in many laps. "Don’t worry about getting a likeness," he says. "Just go for the character. Try to find something characteristic." 

Kinstler has character in abundance: boundless energy, wit, intensity, and yes, those magnificent eyebrows. I show my sketch to him afterward, and he signs it with the words, "Jim, once again, you've "made" me what I am."
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Previously on GurneyJourney: Everett Raymond Kinstler Portrait Demo
Portrait Society
Kinstler's classic instructional book: Painting Portraits
Exhibition Catalog: Everett Raymond Kinstler: From Pulps to Portraits 

Kinstler’s site on Portraits.com