I Ranked The Top 5 Painters to Watch in 2023

Focusing on bold artists who create thought-provoking work, I've rounded up painters who have experienced a sharp rise in inquiries from collectors over the last year. At least 2 of them are poised to break big.

FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.

1. Ariel Babinsky - Best for Male Figurative Painting

Credit: Ariel Babinsky

Highlight: Unique textures and vivid colors.

Year of birth: 1981

Location: Tel Aviv, Israel — New York, USA

Delivery: Free shipping worldwide

Medium: Acrylic and charcoal

Painting from photo: Yes

Popular dimensions: 70x100cm (27x39in)

Prices start at: $3,000

Note from the artist: "When I start working on a portrait, it's like I got a blind date, in a sense. It always feels like something like that to me. I get really excited, and at the same time I really don't want to do it. But then I start doing it, and the excitement takes over the doubts, and I begin to feel like I have this kind of license. It's like a kind of permission. And I realize that most people, they just want to be paid that much attention. And that's a reasonable amount of attention to want to be paid."

Get your portrait now from Ariel Babinsky.

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2. Sebastien Jupille - Best for Female Figurative Painting

Credit: Sebastien Jupille

Highlight: The technique pushes the subject into the foreground to create a 3D illusion.

Year of birth: 1976

Location: Paris, France

Delivery: Free Shipping Worldwide

Medium: Oil on canvas

Painting from photo: Yes

Popular dimensions: 40x50cm (15x20in)

Prices start at: €2,000

Note from the artist: "I'm a father of two and a lemon lover!"

Get your portrait now from Sebastien Jupille.

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3. Lucy Stopford - Best for Abstract Portraiture

Credit: Lucy Stopford

Highlight: Emotional, expressive process leads to bold, unpredictable results.

Year of birth: 1967

Location: Oxford, UK

Delivery: Plus P&P

Medium: Oils, charcoal and bronze

Painting from photo: Yes

Popular dimensions: 40x30cm (15x11in)

Prices start at: €1,500

Note from the artist: "Through poet father, I grew up meeting amazing characters - Samuel Beckett, Buckminster Fuller, Francis Bacon, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, to name a few. My father was also briefly on the speech writing team for Bobby Kennedy, who hosted him when he came to talk to the Oxford Union. His bodyguards bought a painting by my mother to take back to Rose Kennedy in Hyannis Port."

Get your portrait now from Lucy Stopford.

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4. Vitaliy Zherdev - Best for Portrait Sketching

Credit: Vitaliy Zherdev

Highlight: Vigorous draftsmanship puts an emphasis on countenance and emotion.

Year of birth: 1971

Location: Florence, Italy

Delivery: Plus P&P

Medium: Charcoal

Painting from photo: Yes

Popular dimensions: 50x70cm (19x27in)

Prices start at: €1,000

Note from the artist: "Artist-restorer, historian of Arts, painter. I love restoring pieces of Orthodox Ecclesiastical Heritage. When it comes to painting, Florence is such an inspiration."

Get your portrait now from Vitaliy Zherdev.

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5. A.J. Alper - Best for Teen Portraiture

Credit: A.J. Alper

Highlight: Thick, bold, expressionistic brushstrokes.

Year of birth: 1961

Location: Baltimore MD, USA

Delivery: Free Shipping Worldwide

Medium: Oil on Panel

Painting from photo: Yes

Popular dimensions: 40x50cm (16x20in)

Prices start at: $1500

Note from the artist: "Last summer, I was commissioned to paint a portrait of Dolly Parton’s late father to hang in her ceremonial office at the Dollywood Foundation. Halfway through the portrait, they contacted me to see if I could have it ready for Dolly’s visit to the Foundation the following week, and would I like to be there for the unveiling? Yes, I did! I packed up the wet finished painting, drove 8 hours with my family to Tennessee to meet Dolly in person. It was an experience I will never forget."

Get your portrait now from A.J. Alper.