So I always get annoyed with taking photos of my finished work…
It seems as though no matter how I take the photos they never show the nuances and depth of the original. And all those hours spent refining tiny color variations just get blown out or distorted altogether in the photos. For example, no matter how I took photos of the gas lamp above, it just did not show how the light glows in the original. (and I worked hard on that- darn it!) So annoying. And the family looks more alive and more subtle in the original too. When I submit paintings for shows I normally have them professionally shot and that tends to be a bit better, but I don’t bother with that with commissions.
So here goes. This is the final painting as it was presented to the family.
When I was growing up there was a show on tv called Fantasy Island. If you are old like me you may remember the phrase from it, “da plane! da plane!” I think paintings are a bit of a fantasyland. We create the settings and mood that we, or the clients want. I don’t know how photographers do it. Getting everyone, and especially kids, to be happy and in the right pose. For me, I just make them that way. So this is a story about a snapshot in time: A lovingly, restored summer home, a happy family and a fleeting time in the childrens’ lives. Six months from now everything will be different. The kids will have grown, and it will be winter. I have clients tell me ten years later how much it means to them to have frozen a moment.
I always have the family “live” with the painting for a bit to see if anything needs to be adjusted. This is so important because the painting will change throughout the day as the lighting situations change. At night the painting will have a different feel in the more warmer indoor light than during the day in more cooler light. Also, the longer the family looks at it the more they may see things that need to be tweaked before it goes in its frame. The family may decide that a cheek needs to be a little fatter, a little slimmer, etc… and I want the painting to be a perfect representation of them so I am up for any adjustments. It’s all part of the job.
You may have noticed that the hands, especially on the dad, are not finished. I needed to get a few more shots in the right position so I did that while I was there.
After a few days I checked in with the family and there were a few changes to be made. The biggest one was the shoes on the mom. They felt as though the shoes that she was wearing felt more like slippers, so they asked if I could change them to a more pretty shoe. I took a few photos and carted the painting back to my studio for final adjustments and painting new shoes. Now, you may ask how can I make such a dramatic change? Easy… just dive in.
I find it is easier to just block things in aggressively and then refine as I go so I just drew over the feet with black lines and then worked on the form and color. I always remember that this is a painting and if I render every nuance of the shoes then I run the risk of the shoes becoming center stage in the painting. So they are dashed in, rendered a bit and then let go. I save the details for the faces.
I did adjust and bring more detail into both of the girls and then added the man’s hand.Ā If you are afraid to take back a painting and adjust anything on it you may want to rethink about working on commissions. A commission is a collaboration and as such I will adjust anything the client wants to make it more of their story. No need for fear.
Here is the final painting with the hands and feet adjusted.
More next week on how to paint faces so small with such large sticks…
Such a lovely portrait!
I too, have trouble with photographing-the nuances are not really captured.
I liked the “Easy…just dive in.” So brave!
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I am plagued with this problem as well. I lost a sale, actually two, because I was accused of manipulating the photo. The first the client wanted the one with the “brighter” sunset. I made no such manipulations. (Maybe I should have.) The second, well, that was a gift of a painting to a family member. She liked it very much, but I was then accused of changing it all together. I did not. But, oh well, live and learn. Life happens.
yup. Creating art for others can be tricky. Spell everything out, use a contract and dont do “favors”.
Wow! Thanks for sharing! So interesting. Funny, the first thing I thought, after I thought how amazingly beautiful it was, was that she only had one shoe on. Looks better with the pink shoes! Very interesting from start to finish. Congratulations for a job well done!
thanks!
I was looking forward to hearing you describe how you apply pastel to achieve the facial detail (and not use pastel pencils.) I often find it difficult to make that fine line with a pastel, or worse, go to place that precise dot of pastel…..and it ends up 1/16ā off.
yeah I will be talking more about that next week. Pencils can kill your painting. Be careful.
Very beautiful! I like how the final picture has the girls smiling more. Canāt imagine how you can change such a thing without ruining the whole face. Amazing!
I once heard the amazing portrait painter, William Draper speak and demonstrate and he said. “It is wrong until it is right”. I actually had that quote on my easel for many years. So changing things just gets it closer to “right”.
Thanks for sharing your process. I always learn something, even though Iām not a pastel artist.
sure thing!
Hi Christine! Nice portrait. Somehow I thought of Sargent’s, “The Daughter’s of Edward Darley Boit” painting–which is a good thing. For what it’s worth: I have all of my large commissions (not portraits) shot by Alex. These are for possible print sales later. The smaller ones, I scan. However, with my infrequent portrait commissions, I will also have him shoot them. I figure that, for the money I am paid, I can afford a solid, professionally done file of them for promo purposes, both digital and print. The better the photo, the better the result, as you say. Nothing matches the original right in front of you, but Alex does a terrific job–better than I can do. And, I have had a handful of my paintings discovered on the web by clients, who then bought repro rights for their magazine article, book or whatever. Some of these were small, personal paintings of originals I still have or had sold–but I have the strong file of them. You work rather large on your commissions. I’m always astounded how pro photographers shoot and get rid of that skewed, and warped effect that I get when shooting something big. Simply stated, they know what they are doing and Alex and his dad are two of the best. Every professional has their system, and your work is so strong, I think you may be short circuiting yourself in terms of promotion, by not having these beautiful commissions professionally shot. On another topic: I cringe every time you call yourself “old.” In Italian, and most foreign languages, they do not literally say, “I am 50 years old.” They say, “I have 50 years (of life).” Aging is psychologically treated as an accumulation of life experience, as an honor. Just like saying, “I’ve practiced medicine for 22 years now.” In Spanish, Italian and other languages, they are not saying, “How old are you?” They are asking, “How many years do you have?” A friend from Florence, Italy told me when, upon learning English, she found that we say, “The baby is two years old,” it was hard for her to use the word “old” regarding a baby. Her brain said, “The baby has two years” (or 24 months). Those years are the baby’s–the kid OWNS them. A Jewish friend told me that, in Yiddish, they are literally saying, “How long have you been a daughter?” and not “How old are you?” Answer: “Well, I’ve been a daughter 52 years,” even if the parents are dead. A bit off subject here, but I found it fascinating when I discovered this upon learning Italian. And worthwhile! I always tell folks that if you want to be grateful for your youth, take a friend in their 80s, or older, out for lunch or coffee. When you’re finished, see how you view yourself. Don’t know about you, but I believe I have a lot of paintings left ahead of me. End of speech. Take care!
ha! great! thanks for calling me out! Yes! I am not old and just lectured a friend on that very subject recently. I do use Alex Pathos and he is wonderful. Great reproductions. thanks!
Phew! Such a big job, and I love the final result! The colors sing!
thanks! š