Mackenzie, Baker and Natalie, The Smith Children
What a pleasure to be commissioned to capture these three children in paint! I thought some of you might enjoy being taken on the journey I embarked on as I brought to life these kids from a 15 year old photograph. My client lives in Holderness New Hampshire and after viewing other portraits I had made decided that she wanted her favorite photo of her children painted. It is a 16x20 oil painted on an archival canvas panel.
The first step was to make sure my client understood that I am not a photorealist painter, more impressionistic, and that in my portraits I am trying to capture the essence of the subject...a mood. She then emailed me a digital image of the photo. It was old and discolored with a greenish cast and I worked with it in photoshop and then we embarked on a discovery list of eye coloring, skin tones, hair etc. ...AND personality traits.
original photo...photoshopped. The second step is to get a feel for their faces and for this stage I did a pastel portrait of each one. My client then looked these over and made suggestions. She ended up purchasing these, too, in addition to the commisssioned portrait. They are usually just for my reference as I'm not a "pastellist" by trade!
During the third stage I made what is referred to as a full size "cartoon" that I used to transfer the children to the full sized canvas. It is a simple line drawing that helps me make sure they are all in the right proportion.
Moving on to the fun part! I painted what is called a "grisaille" of the children. A grisaille is a black and white and grey rendition underpainting. This technique is older than Methusala. It is then painted and glazed over with color. I find it useful when doing portraits as many "problems" can be worked out before using color. My client looked this over and more small changes were made. In the meantime I live with the painting everywhere...it rides in the car with me...it sits on the hearth in our living room...in the kitchen, just about anywhere I spend time. I find that glancing at it helps me find "problems" that need fixing. My husband thinks this stage is pretty entertaining, LOL.
Here is the grisaille with the painting and glazing stage partially done...
This last series is to show you the progression from the first color/glazing stage, the second color/glazing stage and the final painting. Through each step I "lived" with the children as I did with the grisaille. They feel pretty much like part of my family by now :)
In the 1st painting I pretty much followed my grisaille underpainting...after my "living with the painting" stage I found many changes to make and or tweek.
Image sent to client for input.
Changes made in #2
I had made the background and red of the chair too kigh key (or too bright in value), so I glazed over the back ground and chair to bring down the values so that the children became the main focus...not the bright background!
I also toned down the value of Mackenzie's green romper.
Their skin tones became more developed and I worked on shaping and defining their "body parts"... Mackenzie's left eye needed to be lowered, Natalie's left leg needed to be made less important as did her shoulder/left arm, which needed to be slimmed down. Natalie's jumper needed be shaved down as it went into her back and the arm holes.
If you look closely you'll see even more subtle changes.
Now I "lived with them" again to decide if more things need to be changed.
Images sent to client to see if she had any more thoughts and helpful artist friend collegues for their input.
The final painting in #3
I glazed in warmer skin tones...softened cheeks and their lips and added more definition to their hair. I brought down the back ground value a little more and added more shading to their clothes....AND THEN I SIGNED IT!
I sent my client an image of the final painting...and I'm happy to report that she is thrilled and loves it! YAY.
My goal is to capture the spirit of the subject. When working from an old photo it is sometimes hard for the client to separate characteristics that they see in the grown up version from what had been captured in a momentary flash of a camera bulb many years ago.
The hard part for me is to understand the characteristics of the subject without any real contact besides the photo.
It is so important to hear stories from the client to help me get a better understanding of the feeling/personality needed to be found.
Mackenzie's heart shaped lips and beautiful green eyes, Natalie's "Natatude" ...and their obvious love for their little brother, Baker. Thank you Sue for your delightful input. You made it possible!
I HAVE TIME TO SQUEEZE IN A COUPLE OF COMMISSIONS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS OR FOR VALENTINES DAY ...BUT HURRY AS THIS IS A COMPLICATED PROCESS!
If you are now inspired to commission a painting or have questions please contact me...the following photos are of past portraits and commissions.
Email is the best way: [email protected]
Image sent to client for input.
Changes made in #2
I had made the background and red of the chair too kigh key (or too bright in value), so I glazed over the back ground and chair to bring down the values so that the children became the main focus...not the bright background!
I also toned down the value of Mackenzie's green romper.
Their skin tones became more developed and I worked on shaping and defining their "body parts"... Mackenzie's left eye needed to be lowered, Natalie's left leg needed to be made less important as did her shoulder/left arm, which needed to be slimmed down. Natalie's jumper needed be shaved down as it went into her back and the arm holes.
If you look closely you'll see even more subtle changes.
Now I "lived with them" again to decide if more things need to be changed.
Images sent to client to see if she had any more thoughts and helpful artist friend collegues for their input.
The final painting in #3
I glazed in warmer skin tones...softened cheeks and their lips and added more definition to their hair. I brought down the back ground value a little more and added more shading to their clothes....AND THEN I SIGNED IT!
I sent my client an image of the final painting...and I'm happy to report that she is thrilled and loves it! YAY.
My goal is to capture the spirit of the subject. When working from an old photo it is sometimes hard for the client to separate characteristics that they see in the grown up version from what had been captured in a momentary flash of a camera bulb many years ago.
The hard part for me is to understand the characteristics of the subject without any real contact besides the photo.
It is so important to hear stories from the client to help me get a better understanding of the feeling/personality needed to be found.
Mackenzie's heart shaped lips and beautiful green eyes, Natalie's "Natatude" ...and their obvious love for their little brother, Baker. Thank you Sue for your delightful input. You made it possible!
I HAVE TIME TO SQUEEZE IN A COUPLE OF COMMISSIONS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS OR FOR VALENTINES DAY ...BUT HURRY AS THIS IS A COMPLICATED PROCESS!
If you are now inspired to commission a painting or have questions please contact me...the following photos are of past portraits and commissions.
Email is the best way: [email protected]
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