About Sunil

I've been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. A year or two ago I decided to turn it into a side hustle, partly to keep myself in art supplies, and SBPortraits was born.

By day I'm a maths teacher. Art is my break from all that left-brain thinking, though I'm always surprised how much maths goes into a good portrait. The human eye is very unforgiving of mistakes in a face (especially when someone's paying for it!), so I've put in many hours of practice. I'm entirely self-taught, guided by the books of Andrew Loomis and Jack Hamm, and I still feel I have miles to go.

I love charcoal for its expressiveness, and pastel for its vibrancy and the challenge of staying expressive with it. You'll often find me at local markets drawing portraits on the spot. I'm a bit of a recluse by nature, so it's my favourite way to meet people. I live in Upper Hutt, and I'm looking forward to some travel and plein air painting as I add landscapes and cityscapes to my work.