Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The ultimate family portrait!

The Family Dog is such an important member of the family that clients love to include them in portraits of the children!
I created this 30" x 40" oil on canvas for the family and Roxie, the yellow lab, was right in on the action! 
We delivered the framed portrait a few days before Christmas and other than the older son seeing the prints the children managed to keep quiet (amazing in itself) until Dad opened it on Christmas morning. Originally they were going to prepare a place to hang it but portraits such as these deserve to be in a place where they can be viewed daily! Mom emailed me with:

"HE LOVED IT! absolutely loved it.
kids were so excited to give it to him...
and i was right, he thinks we should hang it on a different wall than where i planned!
Thanks"~ Amy Walsh, Raleigh NC

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Busy at Christmas but Art from the Heart!

How can being busy and having too much business be commented on without sounding like a complaint? In the world of self employment you "cut hay while the sun shines" and that is exactly what happens during this crunch time. And I love it! I am a deadline artist. Give me a deadline and you have it. Don't give me a deadline and I turn into one of those "need to wait until I am motivated" artists.
Pastel by M Theresa Brown
So deadlines,with me, work!

This charming mixed breed dog passed recently. Friends of the owner came to me with two photos in which I combined the "head" in one and the "body" in another, to create this 14 x 14 pastel portrait. As a Christmas present from the group of friends to the dog's owner, it will be unforgettable! And this is really what giving gifts at Christmas should be all about. Gifts from the heart.
So how can many orders be too many with all these beautiful emotions attached? It's not.

Christmas is a time for thanking my clients for the orders and Thanking God for making it all possible!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Full workshops and SNOW!

Hardworking students-sunny, cold morning!
 You have to follow this link http://picasaweb.google.com/ipaintportraits/Dec4ARTCLASS?feat=directlink

to see ALL the photos that we took Dec 4 in our two workshops but read on and see how our day progressed!
The view from the Studio porch around 2:30 pm!
We had such a great time in our workshops! It started off sunny and cold and all the students worked in our naturally lighted studio. They did an amazing job. Ranging in age from 10 to 60 something, they all slipped into the art zone with no effort. A two hour limit forces most people (especially newcomers) to work outside their normal comfort zone! After all-many were totally new to this! But, undaunted they worked through their challenges and what a group of paintings!

Congratulations all!

And just think, our next workshop on Dec 18 is all about painting SNOW!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Further progress on the oil

Another day of progress in completing this oil! People have told me that they enjoy seeing the children emerge....it was Michaelangelo , who, when asked about his marble sculptures, commented that inside every large chunk of marble was a person waiting to emerge......sounds right!

But is not just this portrait that I am completing. I will be delivering an pastel today of a little girl and her horse which I will post after Christmas as it is a surprise! And I have a dozen more commissions to complete.
More progress on 30 x 40 oil

This, by the way, is the real life of an artist. Work. And if you are not creating your art for your clients, you are going out and finding it! That's how all businesses operate. LOL which is why I am behind in getting out my newsletters! I'm picking my challenges :-)

I will deliver a portrait today, paint more on this, work more on some of my other orders and get ready for art mini workshops in our studio tomorrow!. Yikes, it will be only in the 40's but with 15 attendees for each of the two classes, Steve and I will be spending the evening...LOL straightening the house and studio...OK maybe I'm feeling just a little pressure........:-)

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Working on the oil for Christmas!

This large, 30 x 40 oil is for Christmas and since I am right handed, I work it in stages from left to right! Many artists work all over the canvas and often I do too, but with a Christmas deadline, the children are being created first and the background (scene from their porch) will be painted in with muted and soft focus detail!
People do love to see it in this stage and I am glad to show it. But I usually wait until all the faces are done before the client sees the portrait so they get a  complete feel for the expressions, rather than a partial one!  Any changes are then easier! 
The canvas has shadows from the backlight of the window.
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