The Classic Portrait

Do you admire someone from history? Is there an era that you would like to see yourself in? If you went to a costume party, who would you go as? Recently I got inspired to try painting portraits with a historical twist by putting contemporary people, portrait commissions, into fascinating settings. I love to paint what I see and capture the details, so  it was a thrill to copy the work of an old master into a modern portrait. I see it as a way to honor the original artist, and as a way for my modern subject to honor someone from history. Take Art, my husband, for example. He has a special admiration for Reformation theologian and scholar William Tyndale (1494 - 1536). He chose to be painted into this black and white portrait painted by an unknown artist in the 1530s as a way to pay homage to a great man. Can you see yourself in a classic painting?

Squirty

This horse, called Squirty, is leased and ridden by my sister Elaine who is taking lessons (and doing very well). If he looks at all familiar, scroll down and check out the previous post, which was painted from the same photo. While the last painting was done in gouache, this one was done in watercolour. I wanted to be able to compare the two media with the same image. A couple of changes here, however, is that I chose to include the bridle that I omitted with the gouache, and I gave the background a more realistic colour. The vivid blue of the gouache was intentional, used to bring out the horse's colour. There is a lot more detail in this one, that I wasn't able to get with the gouache, but then I'm new to gouache and have lots to learn.

Gouache

Recently, I started experimenting with a kind of paint new to me, called gouache. It has been around for centuries, but as with casein, was largely overlooked by fine artists when acrylic paint came along a few decades ago.  It could be called opaque watercolour, since it is a very similar product, but has been made to cover or overlap the layer beneath. This painting was my first attempt at gouache (and of a horse), and posed some interesting challenges. Not only would it cover areas needing improvement, but it also inadvertently covered up some of the good parts as well. I found myself loosing my way and having to retrace my steps and redo areas repeatedly. Still, it was a fun experience overall, and I went back to my art store a couple more times to get more colours while their sale continued.
Compare this to the next horse painting.

Alina's First

In keeping with the format of my grandson's portrait, Sylvan's First, I did this smaller (6" x 8") companion piece for his sister, my first granddaughter, Alina Rose. One year old already! Again, I wanted to include myself in the portrait to express more than a close up of this special baby, but rather to emphasize our relationship. An exceptionally good natured child, Alina often lights up a room with her smile, although in this painting, she is much more subdued. This pose is taken from a composite of photos taken by her mother while I was reading a picture book. Either Alina had a serious look of concentration as she studied the new book's illustrations, or I had that awkward look of someone in the middle of saying something! She was nearly 10 months old at the time. 

Sylvan's First

From January 2010 to December 2011, (nearly two years!), I didn't paint a single thing. Why? I don't really know. Was I too busy? Traveling the world? Taking up new pursuits? No, no and no. I always knew I would come back to it; it's become a part of who I am. Maybe I was looking for a certain kind of inspiration. More emotional depth, perhaps. More of the artist's soul. I'm still not exactly sure.
In December 2010, I became a Grandma for the first time with the birth of Sylvan. This painting was my gift to him on his first birthday. Not only my first painting of my first grandchild, but my first painting of myself, as well.

Mrs. Tillson's Inspiration

When I tour a heritage home museum such as Annandale in Tillsonburg, formost in my mind is the question: Who were these people who lived here so long ago. I want to know what their lives were like. How they were like us; how they were different. What did they value? Are we ultimately the same?
Through careful artistic sutdy, painting a portrait helps me to know my subject better. This painting is a tribute to Mary Ann Tillson who was directly inspired by Oscar Wilde in the decoration of her home, Annandale House.

Jersey Remembered

I was asked to paint another portrait of Jersey, this time from a photo of her standing in a field. I hadn't done a landscape, which really is what this would be, in a long time, so that would be a challenging change. Also, Tim and Melissa requested that it be done very large, to go over their mantle. Twenty-two inches by 30 inches seemed like a lot of paper after working for so long on an 8"x10" surface.

I wanted to convey the sense of bigness of the sky and field, and yet not loose Jersey in the landscape, since, after all, this was a painting about her. She will be remembered here in this harvest time field near the family cottage on Lake Huron.

Jersey

I have always had a fondness for a good old fashioned 'farm dog'. Perhaps this was due to the many stories my mom told of the great dog they had on their farm during the depression. Although I did not meet Jersey, it is clear that she was this kind of dog. She and her brother had been abandoned as pups and found wandering in the country. Janet's family adopted this noble collie shepherd cross and had many happy years with her.

Elaine

Elaine is my sister, and this was from a photo taken at a dimly lit restaurant. The lighting intrigued me, and I was curious to see how difficult it would be to paint an image that wasn't brightly lit. I did run into some difficulties, but leaned some good lessons. I'd like to frame it with an oval mat, to eliminate the awkward parts. This was painted around her birthday in January.

Danielle

No stranger to a camera, I think that Danielle, my husband's youngest, could have posed all day. She had read enough fashion magazines and watched enough top model tv shows to know how its done. Or perhaps she is a natural. Getting good shots of Danielle was easy, but for some reason, I stuggled with this painting.

Having done three other portraits, I may have let my guard down and gotten careless. Also, with a deadline fast approaching, I was working quickly. In the end, the rescue effort took more time than doing the painting. But the challenge was a good one, and I learned a lot. It is all part of the process of being 'self taught'.

Valerie

Val is my husband's oldest daughter. She had just gotten off work and was tired when I sat her down to take some pictures. Not used to having a camera pointed at her, she was at first self concious and the results were strained. However, there was something spontaneous and natural when she rested her head in her hand, and I knew I had the shot I wanted.

By now of course, they all knew what they might be getting for Christmas. It had become obvious. They just wouldn't see the painting until that day.

Ariane

Ariane is my husband's middle daughter, and she was with Annie and I on that fall hike. I had brought the camera along to get landscape shots of the flaming Ontario fall foliage that was everywhere around us. It seems that the portrait shots were better; either that or I was ready for a change.

My next challenge was to see if I could paint a face directly. It was facinating to paint the effects of such strong lighting.

With two done and three to go, I decided that I would paint portraits of all the kids for Christmas gifts. But I would have to work fast.

Annie

It was time to attempt a portrait. I chose a windswept pose of my daughter for my first try. She was overlooking a high bluff on one of those rare clear fall days. The late afternoon sun made her hair appear very red. Also, I liked how the hair partly hid her face, making the features easier to tackle. I was reminded of album cover art.

It became her suprise Christmas gift that year.