Swedish artist Mikael Takacs creates mesmerizing paintings that he then distorts with marble effects. His subjects are people that he has met in his own life, warped into his own interpretations using the abstract expression of marbling. “I find that the half abstract nature of my portraits makes it both easier and harder to connect with them. It’s harder in the sense that you can’t really see who it is, or maybe even what it is. It may be easier to connect with them for basically the same reason, as you can project so much of your own thoughts onto someone you can just barely see,” he shared in an email to Hi-Fructose. Marbling has been around for hundreds of years, but in spite of that, his acrylic paintings are often mistaken for digital art. He first uses droppers to pour paint onto the canvas, which has to be completely horizontal, otherwise the paint would run off the canvas. When the paint is distributed across the canvas, he begins distorting the portrait by dragging the paint around using various tools, like sticks and combs. This results in intricate patterns that form his subjects, a process that makes them anonymous. Takacs is currently preparing his first solo exhibition at Galleri Ramfjord in Oslo, Norway, opening in spring 2016.
Sarah Ball's oil paintings, subtle in their complexity, are intended for the viewer to encounter the portrait's subject intimately. The practice of physiognomy, or judging the character of a person just from their facial features or expressions, has long been a subject of fascination for the artist. In efforts like her current Anima Mundi show "Themself," she culls her subjects from historic photographic archives, social media, and beyond. "These source images become a starting point for a methodical process of understanding, assumption and translation, where the aesthetic ‘mask' and what lies beneath become the focus of engagement,” the gallery says.
Minneapolis based artist Michael Carson captures the fleeting moments of stylish modern day people. While there is a sense of immediacy in painting them, there is also a timelessness in their 40s and 90s-esque glamour. His subject's fashion is one of the ways that Carson injects himself into his works; patterns in clothing and the interiors of rooms are particularly prevalent, reflecting his interests in design and fashion.
Mixed media artist 
Growing up in rural Colorado, Oregon based artist