It is our pleasure to introduce you to Jeraasak Jumpataed, an artist whose focus is on portraits. You might have heard of him as Bangkok or Tongfolio from social media or in our weekly newsletter. But what is his story? Let’s find out in the next lines.
The nickname Bangkok implies your roots might be in Thailand. Were you born and raised there?
That is correct. I was born and raised in Thailand. This was the reason I chose the Bangkok username in the Escape Motions Community.
On social media, I use the name Tongfolio. Even though my full name is Jeraasak Jumpataed, everyone calls me Tong. I wanted to present my portfolio on social media, so I just combined the words, and the name for the social media was decided - Tongfolio.
How did your artistic journey evolve over the years?
I studied fine art and graduated from Silpakorn University in Thailand. I've been working in advertising for over 20 years. Now I'm back to painting portraits as my main occupation. I have been using traditional techniques for more than 30 years. Once I became interested in digital painting, I was looking for software that could produce a similar result to real traditional handmade drawing, because I don't like digital drawing. The colors are smooth like in the photos and I feel it's not fun, there's nothing more to explore or imagine.
When I learned about Rebelle and tried version 3, I was very satisfied. I have been using it since. Currently, I'm using Rebelle 5 Pro and it works quite satisfactorily to me.
I'm very hopeful that developers will surprise us and add more exciting features mimicking traditional painting techniques such as thick paint smearing with a trowel or smearing into a thick lump, and more.
In the description of your paintings in Community Gallery, you mentioned you love to paint in classical renaissance style. What fascinates you about this style and who are the artists that inspired you?
I love painting portraits in the classical renaissance style. I love the color tones. Some of my favorite artists definitely are:
-Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa is one of them
-Michelangelo - The Creation of Adam
-Raphael - Madonna of the Pinks
But to be honest, I am also very obsessed with light in the Baroque portraits, which have outstanding light and shadow techniques and bold color painting, dark backgrounds. It is just fascinating how the face of a person illuminates.
My favorite artists and artworks of the Baroque period are:
-Rembrandt - An Old Man in Military Costume, Self-portrait
-Johan Vermeer - Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Milkmaid
-Peter Paul Rubens -Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria
Another painter, whose portrait work I really like, is the American artist John Singer Sargent.
Your paintings are full of texture and wonderful creamy impasto. Could you walk us through your painting process?
What I am looking for in digital painting is the realism of the thickness of the oil paint, the lump of the paint that is smeared thickly, the thickness of the paint with a trowel, and more.
One thing I love when preparing for painting is creating my own brushes. I don't use the default settings provided by the software, I created my own blends of textures I wanted, and so much more I cannot explain properly. The brush modes that I use most often are Paint and Blend.
One technique that I use often is to start painting with the Paint mode and then, I'll use Blend to paint over the layer again, achieving thickness and rough surface (which I have already set in the brush settings).
Each portrait takes about 2-4 days, depending on the difficulty - ease of the job.
In our Community Gallery, you showcase only portraits. Do you paint landscapes or sceneries as well?
The reason I showcase only portraits in Escape Motions’ Community Gallery is that my main occupation is painting portraits and the majority of my artworks are portraits.
I also paint landscapes, which I sell online. Unfortunately, most of them cannot be published in my portfolio as it would be a violation of the terms of the website I sell them through. However, I can show you a small sneak peek at my landscape work.
Some of your portraits are paintings of actors and public figures. Have they ever seen them? Did any of them purchase your painting? What are some projects you worked on?
Many portraits I create are of people or families that commission my work and are not comfortable with me posting their portraits on social media. They want to keep them private, which is understandable.
I figured, drawing public figures and famous people would be a great way to showcase some techniques or experiments I work on and indulge myself in. I love to practice smearing, and creating sloppy looks, however, I cannot do that on commissioned portraits.
I also want to showcase my art and create a portfolio online, so these portraits are a great way to do so.
That is wonderful. Surely, many of these publicly known people will find their portrait in your portfolio and will be very pleased with the results.
Thank you, Jeraasak for your time and willingness to answer our questions and introduce your work to other Rebelle artists and people who come across our blog. We wish you all the best in your future creative efforts and are looking forward to seeing more of your art.
Escape Motions Team
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Learn more about Jeraasak Jumpataed
Escape Motions Community Portfolio: escapemotions.com/community/user/JEERASAK
Instagram: instagram.com/tongfolio
Facebook: facebook.com/Painting-by-tongfolio