This modern portrait painting trend is unexpected, but necessary

Portrait painting trends; a photo of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters president Anthony Connelly
(Image credit: Aliona Adrianova)

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ 132nd Annual Exhibition is on now at the Mall Galleries in London until 13th May, so what better time to dissect what people are painting, the modern portrait painting trends right now, and why? I sat down with RP's president, Anthony Connolly, to discuss what he considers the biggest trends in portrait painting.

Aside from being a renowned portrait painter and the president of one of the world's most respected art organisations, Connolly has also overseen the 132nd Annual Exhibition submissions process, which has meant studying over 3,500 entries from new and established artists. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Ian Dean
Editor, Digital Arts & 3D

Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creativebloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and leading video game title Official PlayStation Magazine. In his early career he wrote for music and film magazines including Uncut and SFX. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on AI, digital art and video game art and tech, and more to Creative Bloq, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5. He's also a keen Cricut user and laser cutter fan, and is currently crafting on Glowforge and xTools M1.