Paulina Kwietniewska’s portraits have a straightforward quality to them. With a focus on human emotion, her portraits convey a range of feelings (anything from melancholy to happiness). Working in a variety of mediums that include watercolors, oils, and ink, Kwietniewska pairs her subjects with the right medium that portrays them best. As such, each piece has a one-of-a-kind quality to it.
According to Kwietniewska, her interest in art sparked when she was just a child. “I was always very much into art,” she recalled in an interview with the Printed blog. “I was basically the child that painted all the Mother’s Day cards at school for other children that wanted a prettier one.”
These days, she creates custom portraits, sold through her online platform About Face Illustration. According to Kwietniewska, she launched her brand while on maternity leave with her first child in March 2016.
“If I had to pick my biggest achievement, it’s just being able to do what I do,” says the full-time artist. “When I was a teenager, I really wanted to study at the Florence Academy of Art, which is very expensive. At the time I thought that I’d never be able to go anywhere like that, but with About Face Illustration, I was actually able to pay to attend a very similar school in London! It’s something I never thought I’d be able to do before.”
After living and studying abroad in Spain, Italy, and London, Kwietniewska is currently in Poland, where she continues to work from home. Her hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed, and last year she became one of the emerging artists selected for In The Studio program with The Mall Galleries in London, operated by the Federation of British Artists.
You can purchase a custom portrait from her website or admire her work via Instagram.
