"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter." Painting is an art consisting of representational,imaginative,or abstract designs produced by application of coloured paints to a two-dimensional,prepared,flat surface.

The elements of design(i.e.line, colour, tone, texture) are used in various ways to produce sensations of volume, space, movement and light. The range of media(e.g.tempera,FRESCO,oil,WATERCOLOUR,ink,GOUACH,enncuaastic.casein) and the choice of a particular form(e.g.,URAL,easel,panel,MINIATURE,illuminated manuscript,SCROLL,screen,FAN) combine to realize a unique visual image.Painting as an art form dates back to prehistoric cave paintings.

The early cultural traditions of tribes,religions,guilds,royal courts,and states controlled the craft, form, imagery and subject matter of painting and determined its function (i.e. ritualistic,devotional,decorative).Painters were considered skilled artisans rather than creative artists until eventually ,in East Asia and Renaissance Europe, the fine artist emerged with the social status of a scholar and courtier.

Fine artists signed their work and decided its design and often its subject and imagery.over time painters have increasingly gained the freedom to invert their own visual language and to experiment with new forms and unconventional materials and techniques. In the early 20th century painters began to experiment with non representational art in which formal qualities such as line, colour and form were explored rather than subject matter.Throughout the century, styles vacillated between representational and non-representational painting. In the late 20th century some critics forecast the "death of painting" in the face of new media such as video and installation art, yet talented new artists repeatedly brought painting back to the cetre of artistic production.