c o m m i s s i o n s
A commissioned portrait is a wonderful way to commemorate someone. It can catch the fleeting innocence of youth, celebrate the depth of a special relationship, or honor a person's lifework. The process is exciting and enjoyable for both the artist and the sitter. My love for capturing both life and likeness in paint allows me to work closely with you in setting up a perfect commission. The end result is a work of art based on your original idea for the piece and my artistic vision and style.
Please feel free to get in touch with me for more information, or if you would like to enquire about commission fees.
My process for commissioned portraits:
I work with watercolour on archival clay surface. This method allows me to gradually build up a painting in many transparent washes of paint.
The drying time between each layer is relatively long, and for that reason I've found it works best - both for myself and for the sitter - to work from photographs. I prefer taking the photos myself, since this helps me to gather all the visual information that I need.
In some cases, such as with a posthumous portrait, or when the sitter lives very remote from me, I paint from existing photographs. In that case, the photo will have to meet a few conditions (lighting, resolution, etc.). I am always open to discuss this with you.
As a first step, I would meet the person who will be portrayed if possible. I always prefer to get to know each other a little, discuss the aspirations for the painting and take photographs. I’ll then use these photos set up the painting.
For large sized compositions, I can work up a few sketches of different composition ideas to show you. With these we can discuss which is preferred for the final piece and make any adjustments needed. Sometimes this means that I will come and meet you again, take more photos and prepare new sketches, to ensure we all agree on the general composition and appearance of the painting.
From then on, I will work on the final painting in my studio, and any further communication can be done remotely. I find this is a good process to keep communication open throughout, and to ensure there are no unexpected surprises at the unveiling.
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