All too often, however, beginners deliberately stifle their bent in this direction, not from choice but under the mistaken impression that to produce satisfactory portraits is prohibitively difficult—that to be successful one needs some unusual kind or degree of talent. Even without giving portraiture a fair trial, they therefore turn to other subjects mainly because they believe that these subjects lie more within their capacities.

These qualms about portraiture are as unfortunate as they are unfounded. The fact is—as proven again and again—that any beginner possessing even a modicum of inborn ability is soon able, once he has cleared the first hurdles, to produce portraits of acceptable quality. This book will push you through those hurtles, so you'll be painting beautiful portraits before you know it.