The "Three Pastors" portrait

This portrait commission was a challenge in many ways. The client initially requested a portrait of all three pastors in a group with the church behind them. The trouble was, no such photo existed. This was a surprise portrait for one of the pastors, so photographing them was out of the question. Piecing them together would not have worked, so I suggested we do three cameos and incorporate a favorite verse of the pastor. The other challenging element was time. This needed to be completed in a matter of two to three weeks, which left no time for multiple sketches and composition ideas.

I started out by selecting a photo of each of the pastors that reflected their distinct personalities. After the sketch was finished, I started in with brighter colors in the undertones than I have in the past. I learned this from a DVD from Jane Angelhart (I'll review the DVD in the next post.) I decided to keep the overall painting earthy and subtle, letting the verse recede into the background. After correcting some problems with features, I finished up by layering muted color over the skin tones and jackets for cohesive color.

Madame X

Oh, if you are a fan of John Singer Sargent you will want to read this book. It's the story of the famous "Madame X" painting and the scandal it caused in the late 1800s in Paris. The book is fascinating, more for the window into the life of Sargent than for the scandal (although the scandal reads like People magazine). As I was revising a portrait this week and adding hair (where there was none) and removing wrinkles (where there were some) I had to laugh at the similarities Sargent faced with his clients. In the end, people are still the same. They see themselves in a much kinder light than a scrutinizing artist would. The key is in balancing reality with a flattering touch.

HOT! exhibition and more

What a week! An art opening on Friday, had everything finished and framed just in time, a rush portrait commission of three people, an art show at LSU that I had to frame and ship work to...and now I am just sitting here enjoying my morning coffee, ahh!

The art opening on Friday was fun, lots of new faces and interested buyers, and the gallery is beautiful. A nice review of the show appeared on the blog "Art in Pittsburgh".

HOT! An Exhibition of Emerging Artists

Friday, February 15 is the opening of a group show called HOT! at Fein Art Gallery on the North Side. I will be exhibiting a series of portraits, ranging from Jamaica to opera. The show runs through April 12th.