Finished and accepted portrait commission

Ha ha,  Just kidding!  My recent post of the "finished" commission was about two more full days and a lot of erasing away from being finished. My client was happy with first edition, but not completely.  She asked me to make the bangs more "blonde" and soften the bags under the eyes.  And if I didn't mention it before, she asked me to change her teeth a bit from the photograph.  She never liked them.  So this is what doing commissions is all about! And this is why contracts are a good idea. Changes take time. In this case though, I couldn't charge her for my extra efforts.  The changes were too subtle. And the teeth were part of the initial agreement.  Unfortunately, working this small, forced me to erase back almost all of the cheeks and face in order to lighten the bangs and find the correct over all values. Once completed, this little graphite drawing took as much time and effort as a full color 8x10"!  It was very difficult, but worth the tricks learned.  At one point I was terrified that I would have to start all over again.  But, the Fabiano Artistico 150 wt Hot Pressed paper, which was recommended by an amazing artist friend of mine Alan Woollett, turned out to be quite forgiving. So here is the really, not kidding, for sure, finished 7.5x 8.5 graphite commission of a small girl.

Small Graphite Commissioned Portrait

This little portrait (7 x 8.5") was created from a 3.5 x 5" vintage photo.  I don't normally consent to doing such a small human portrait, especially from a client provided reference.  I prefer to photograph the subject myself.  It allows me to see the subject clearer.  What is her attitude about things?  Does she have a sense of humor? From the many photos I take, I will be able to make compositional choices that allow me to say something specific about the subject.  With one client reference I have nothing but a 2 dimensional image. There is no way to know the subject.  Hence I meticulously copy, as best I can, the photo.  This kind of interpretation leaves very little, if any room for creativity. I depend on the medium and the character of my technique to make the difference. Though, I carefully warn the client that to work this small makes it difficult to nail likeness, that all it takes is one tick of the pencil to completely change an expression, does she hear me? Once the piece is finished and a photo  sent off for approval, I sweat it out. Did I communicate well; did I capture whatever it is the client sees as likeness or will I have to start over again? Weighing challenge against risk, did I quote the proper price? One could say, that each time I do a commissioned piece I learn something new.  That is invaluable right? I've been doing portraits for 15 years. It should be effortless by now, (smiley face with tongue in cheek and wink.) Good thing I have another commission to get to!

Anubis is signed

Looking through reference material, I came across a series of photos taken in Cape May New Jersey and immediately  thought "scale of justice." The scale is associated with Anubis. The idea of a guardian protector of the dead, who by weighing the heart, determined a soul worthy of Heaven or Hell, originated with the Egyptians and was later adopted by the Greeks, who named the God Anubis. In this image, two helmet-shaped, Horseshoe Crabs, deemed to be living fossils and estimated to be 450 million years old are held at arm's length by the beautiful yet indifferent young woman, who hides her slight amusement behind dark glasses. The white dress reminds us that our fate is yet to be determined.

Anubis is painted /drawn with Prismacolor pencil French Grays 10%-90%, black Verithin and some solvents.  It measures roughly 39.5x 36".  The photograph shows up blue at the bottom.  This is some kind of reflection that I haven't figured out how to omit.  Stay tuned.....

My newest effort: Anubis

Something I'm working on... Anubis. So far 32"x24" on Crescent Rag mat board with Prismacolor french grays. My ref photos taken in Cape May NJ. I have always been fascinated by Horse Shoe Crabs.  They used to litter East Coast beaches, where I spent many happy summers as a kid.  Creepy and a little like Darth Vader's helmet, they are ancient. We are a mere aggravation on their long, long, time line. The idea of this figure as Anubis, (you might want to look this up- the god Anubis, often depicted as the scale of justice, decides who gets into heaven or hell,) has been percolating in my head for three years. A disadvantage of a back-burner, (forgive the cooking metaphors- I didn't eat breakfast,) a slow cooked idea, can go many different directions. It can be simple and to the point like a good crusty bread, multilayered like marinara, or tricky like pie crust. Then I get it started on a new piece of board and see possibilities start poking holes and burning the edges of my plans.

Accepted into Manifest Gallery Drawn Exhibition! Opening Friday April 17th 6:00-9:00. Be There!

Please allow me to toot my horn! "Departing" is accepted into the Manifest Gallery DRAWN exhibit. 36 pieces form 27 artists chosen out of 1188 entries by 394 artists. Opening reception April 17th. This is a big deal for me.  Manifest Gallery is an amazing non profit organization that shows and promotes very current work through its publications as well as exhibitions. Acceptance into DRAWN makes me feel relevant. And believe me when I tell you, it has been a long windy road to arrive at this point!!

Latest Work

This latest drawing -painting uses all my technical tricks to tell a story.  You will notice the rich color and texture of the red coat in contrast with the barely there background. It is 27"x20" colored pencil on rag mat board.  I haven't decided on the title.  For now I'm calling it "On The Bridge" It was conceived while visiting The Brooklyn Bridge last November. I came upon this scene and found it interesting.  The bridge itself is an amazing place to visit- all those cables slicing patterns through the New york sky.  But it was the gush of human traffic over the bridge, people from all over the world, some commuting, some tourists, some on foot, some on bikes, I found most fascinating. In this scene you have the juxtaposition of three self absorbed young girls taking a group shot with a smart phone, while a serious young woman photographs scenery with her SLR and zoom lens. The progression of technology- what is gained what is lost?  The three girls capture  three faces, together in the place, in the moment, while the more mature woman takes photos of what is beyond.

In addition, I like the humor in this scene. You have me taking a reference photo of a young woman taking a photo in front of three younger women taking a group selfie, all of us standing on the same bridge seeing completely different things!

 

Pigeon Trinity #3

This is the third pigeon image for a triptych.  The question will be how to frame.  I originally planned on three small images matted together: two horizontal and one vertical- the horizontals will have the same mat opening size. The piece would be one long horizontal.  An other way to approach this would be to frame separately to be hung on the wall in a cluster.  This would enable me to crop this image differently if I choose. I realize the subject and the images are dark. And I'm not 100% sure this will work,  but I will try anyway. Once I have them matted together I will post it so you can see.

Christmas rush!

I just finished two small paintings for a lovely client who wished to create the perfect gifts for her two children:  table top original portraits of their two dogs. Each child chose a puppy fourteen years ago. They are now gray in the muzzle and a little slower, but otherwise healthy. The children, both in college, miss their pups. I spent a few hours one afternoon, photographing and getting to know the dogs, while also learning about the family and the mom. The photographs and expressions were chosen by her. We wished to capture each dog's personality in a tiny 5x7 head shot. This is not an easy task. In fact, a lot can be lost in one small tick of the pencil. I struggled with these. There was concern that the dog Ed, looking at the viewer and pleading to be petted, might appear to be giving dominant eye contact.  Thanks to my husband's suggestion, a  touch of dark to the eyebrow made the difference in the perceived expression. The other dog, Lucy held a strange pose which finally necessitated the inclusion of parts of her foreleg; otherwise her head would have seemed tipped over.

I decided to use colored linen mat as the surface to give these a painterly feel. Lucy, who is mostly black, is painted on a dark blue mat and Ed, who has a lot of browns and reds, is on a red mat. Using  colored mat board, even if  completely covered with pigment, is similar to an under paint wash and provides tone.

When my client finally saw the finished pieces she was completely satisfied. This is a blessing, because I never know what a client will think until they have the art in hand. Now I can relax for a bit and paint something new, something BIGGER.