Silhouette portraits, an exceedingly common wall decoration and keepsake in Victorian times, is now something of a lost art. It’s a pity, since there are few things cuter than a baby’s double chin or the pursed bow lips of a preschooler, and silhouettes capture details like this perfectly.
Master silhouette artist Karl Johnson still practices the vintage craft, using photographs to cut out his images freehand, instead of using the tracing method of lesser artists. The silhouette portraits he produces are wonderfully accurate and charmingly old-fashioned, a perfect holiday gift for grandparents. They’re darned cheap, too: $25 for a 5 x 7 face-and-shoulders portrait, $50 for a 8 x 10, with extras like colored paper and full-body silhouettes costing a bit more. One divine extra to shell out for: $15 for a digital file of the silhouette, perfect for birthday invites and holiday cards.
Silhouette Pictures by Karl Johnson, starting at $25
Your atrciles are for when it absolutely, positively, needs to be understood overnight.
November 6th, 2011 at 1:56 am