Passionate Heart: Suzette Sherman and Michele Green, oil on canvas

Judith Elsasser is an oil painter who specializes in detailed, photo-realistic portraits. In her artistic practice the artist skillfully captures the faces and expressions of her subjects, as well as objects and spaces that are important to them.

Summer Days, oil on canvas

I’m impressed by Judith’s ability to capture not only faces, but a sense of movement and life in her portraits. Even in paintings that focus only on a bust, the artist’s use of lighting and volume lends energy and expression to the subject. Judith is also adept at capturing full body poses -- in her gallery of figurative paintings she showcases several works where the subjects are captured in the middle of a dance.

The front page of Judith's art portfolio website

I also appreciate Judith’s recent series of drawings -- these portraits are a little more pared-down and subdued than the artist’s usual style, but they offer an interesting perspective on the artist’s practice and process. That same sense of energy is still present in these, while the white space of the paper allows for a pure focus on the subject’s features.

Portrait 1, conte on watercolour paper