Nov 30, 2012 | Animal Paintings, Commissioned Portrait Paintings, Corporate Portraits, Fine Art Pastel Paintings, Nature Painting
1. First of all, you must love the Artist’s work. Look at as many pieces as possible, and don’t be shy about calling the Artist or the organization you like the most. 2. When you decide on a portrait, whether it be Corporate, Family, Pet, Sports, Entertainment portraits or a special Landscape Portrait, ask about the process. When I first spend time with a client, they usually specify what type of portrait they would like. I then explain how I create a detailed pencil sketch to scale, prior to creating the actual painting. By doing this, my clients can see the face, body, and details of what will become a final product – in the actual size of the painting. We can then all critique the sketch and make corrections, if necessary. I find this process is relaxing for my clients, and it makes the creation process even more fun. 3. After speaking with the Artist and providing all the detailed information necessary, the next question is where to display the completed painting. The Artist should physically see where the space – whether a room, courtroom, business or other area – and understand the lighting, size of the space, et cetera. This helps also guide the conversation about frame size, shape and color. I have longstanding relationships with local framers, who I work with when the time comes. Since my portraits are pastel paintings, special care is required to create museum-quality environment for these Masterpiece works of art, and I personally supervise the framing process to ensure this. 4. Paintings take time to create so there is usually a contract...
May 17, 2012 | Fine Art Pastel Paintings, Portrait Paintings
The self-portrait images in the previous Blogs showed the colorations starting to take hold however, my face was not totally in its natural proportion. Now in the finishing stages you can see that the facial area has become more blended and more in proportion. While before I was laying down colors and blocking out areas now you can see that all that been pulled together to produce a beautiful light colorful Pastel Portrait. Almost finished, I still must spray and Check all the lines to make sure everything is blended perfectly. The spraying takes about four to five days. Spraying it itself is an Art. To much can ruin the piece and not enough spray does not hold the chalk, so I take my time. The whole demeanor of this Pastel Painting is soft and colorful capturing the essence of femininity with an image that defines how I look and at the same time recognizable to people know me. It is a modern interpretation of the soul of my inner self. As I was creating my portrait, I could not help but to think of a painting, “Girl with Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer circa 1665. Here I work with a light background to show attention to the subject while Vermeer used a dark background to highlight is subject. Both the Maids head and My head are turned to expose one earring that is the main decoration in both paintings. This one jeweled detail changes the way a woman feels about herself. For that moment her whole demeanor becomes more regal with a sence of beauty that radiates from her eyes. Vermeer’s Maid is dressed in maids cloths and her young face is solemn, in comparison to my face that has more of an alluring quality with a more suggestive...
Oct 29, 2010 | Commissioned Portrait Paintings, Corporate Portraits, Fine Art Pastel Paintings
I have been posting pictorial Blogs as I created each part of my newest Pastel Painting, “Enchanting Bloom”. This beautiful painting is now in the finishing stages with only the top portion of the flower to be painted in. Since my last Blog I have put “Enchanting Bloom” aside to work on a new Memorial commission of a Federal Judge that will be on permanent display in the Key West Court House which has been dedicated in his name. This honor was bestowed upon me by his son. Through personal dialogue with his son along with a few photographs of his Father I created an original realistic sketch to scale featuring The Judge in a three-quarter length pose from head to mid-thigh measuring about 40″X50″. This sketch took me a month to develop. I am very happy to say that the family members critiqued and approved the sketch. I am now painting the portrait from which I rendered from a photo. After many years of creating portraits without actually meeting the subject I knew my past experience was invaluable for this project. It has been a joy right from the start. There will be a press release and a new page added to my web site when the portrait painting is completed. The painting will take about three to four months more to paint and custom frame. After my client approves the press release I will be able to give you more details about this incredible, “Great American” I am painting. Meanwhile, I will be updating “Enchanting Bloom” in my next Blog in about ten days. Your comments are always welcome, Sincerely, L.A....