The cameo pastel

The cameo pastel

I love Fall! People are actually more organized...maybe because there is so much more (it seems) to do!

Lots of small portraits have been ordered from my clients right now so I am busy creating memories for many people. This time of year everything is starting into the secrecy stage :-)

 cameo pastel

 This cute baby was just 2 weeks old when her photo was taken as was her brother (who is now 2). I suggested to their mom to do separate portraits simply because each one at 2 weeks, put together, will look like a set of twins!

 cameo pastel

There was a little coordinating of clothes and colors of course-but all timeless!

Bella, cameo past

This small pastel was photographed on my easel but is a popular size for gift giving. They frame out to around 12 x 15 (with mats) Almost any kind of photo will work-even the old black and white ones pulled from a relative's album :-)
I call them "cameos"...the face (of a person) is usually around the size of roughly a saucer...then of course I add a bit more to balance the portrait and...Walla!, a cameo  portrait





So did everyone order pastels? No. Another popular medium is pencil. Yep. Soft, black and white pencils :-)

3 separate pencil portraits, cameos

I have combined 3 pencils together for display purposes but each one is a cameo. Pencil is super hard for me to photograph as you can see! Each background is white but the soft, subtle shades of gray get lost in a photograph! So enjoy by using your imagination!

Coming up later-more cameos featuring dogs and h

Making the News :-)

News - Wake Forest

On the road: Franklinton painting duo make art pay

By Chelsea Kellner - ckellner@newsobserver.com

Theresa Brown’s first career was as a dog trainer running a 100-pen kennel in Raleigh. Steve Filarsky was a sign painter from Philadelphia, specializing in gold-leaf hand-lettering on fire trucks and antique boats.
Now, the couple is married, earning a living as traveling portrait artists for the past 15 years, crisscrossing the country to sell their work at art shows and returning to home base in Franklinton in between. Making it work as a self-employed household has taken flexibility and business savvy, but both say it’s worth it.
“As times change, you have to adapt what you do,” Brown said. “The biggest thing is, yeah, you can do it, but it’s hard work.”

Theresa Brown and her husband, Steve Filarsky, are the featured artists at Wake Forest Art and Frame Shop for Art After Hours on Friday. - CKELLNER@NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Filarsky and Brown are the featured artists at Wake Forest Art and Frame Shop for downtown Wake Forest’s Art After Hours event Friday. Shop owner Beth Massey recently commissioned a portrait from Brown of her own children, marveling over Brown’s ability to capture the essence of each child’s personality.
“You can make something look like a picture, but to capture how people in that family see that person is amazing,” Massey said.
The idea that you can’t make a living as an artist is relatively new – artists have been tradesmen working on commission for millennia, Brown said.
“Even the greatest of artists had to go, gee, I’ve got to finish this – I have bills due,” Brown said.
A life in art
Art show season is cyclical, so Brown and Filarsky have developed a lifestyle that follows the weather like migrating birds: drive the camper down to Florida for a month at a time for winter art shows starting in November, then head to the northern shows in spring and summer. It helps that they work well together; last Wednesday, Brown was scheduling art classes in Wake Forest while Filarsky set up their booth at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh.
The road to self-employed success was a winding one for both artists.
For Brown, the catalyst was a divorce that left her a single mom of four kids between the ages of 3 and 13. She needed money, fast.
Her three years of art school at East Carolina University had left her with the mindset that painting portraits on commission was somehow lesser, not truly “art.” She shoved those feelings aside and set up a booth at the N.C. Flea Market, “where most artists wouldn’t be caught dead.” The first weekend, she came up empty. Her second weekend, she netted $90. The two following weekends brought in $250 apiece, and she knew she’d found a viable career.
In the two decades since, she has illustrated books for New York publishing houses and other projects, but her focus is portrait-painting with a special niche capturing people and their horses or dogs. She first holds a photo session with a client to get natural, relaxed photos in the setting of their choice. She then creates a pastel portrait, with special care to capturing the spirit of her subjects.
Filarsky started out with an architecture degree from Penn State University, then moved to North Carolina to start a sign business in Wake Forest, where he met Brown while investigating the local art scene. He specializes in watercolor portraits, in addition to hand-lettering gigs from across the country.
Having a business-owner’s mindset is crucial to succeeding in a notoriously difficult field, Brown said. There’s no waiting for inspiration to strike – the work has to be done according to client specifications on deadline.
The couple is able to live comfortably; their house and cars loans are mostly paid off, and they used to maintain a beach getaway spot. Brown’s kids are grown, but the couple has two ponies, five dogs and a goat.
“When it comes to ‘making a living,’ you determine what you want,” Brown said. “Aim for what you want, and you can do it by hitting the right market. Luck doesn’t enter into it.”

http://www.northraleighnews.com/2012/05/08/13189/on-the-road-franklinton-painting.html

Portrait of Massey children

The beginning of a large pastel portrait!

A work in progress: 30 x 40 Pastel Portrait

Here is a sanded 30 x 40 pastel that I have begun of a whole family-the two daughters, along with their horses or first to be seen......mom and dad, along with the two Golden retrievers and a former horse,  are still way-y-y-y in the background waiting to emerge from their anonymity :-).

Keep an eye out for the completed version!

The timeless appeal of babies

Molly giving hugs. Pastel: 10 x 12

In the long world of art there has never been a subject more appealing than babies unless it was mother and baby images (think Bible)
So when the opportunity comes to create a pastel portrait from an adorable photo, what artist can resist?


1 year old Baby Molly had just given her mother the "Barney hug" when her mom snapped this charming image with her cell phone (who would have thought) and I created a 10 x 12 pastel portrait of the image to capture that moment in a timeless manner!


Now who wouldn't love Barney as well?

The beauty of GREY

Waiting for the Class

I love to create portraits for my clients and this gorgeous Grey is no exception!


I photographed him, per her request, at one of the shows and later created this 18 x 24 pastel based on a selection from the group.


You simply have to know horses to know what photos are the best to work from and which are not :-)


The tiny roan flecks are difficult to see in the image but are more obvious in the actual piece!

Going back in time with a Portrait

Wow. This lovely woman was my client's grandmother!

This large 18 x 24  pastel portrait was created from a photo of a tinted photo and it was great fun to do!  It is often easier working virtually life size than working small and the impact is stunning.

Most of the "historical" portraits that I create for clients, who go back this far in time, are for genealogists who come to me with faded black and white photos...sometimes even tin types. 

Not all of my subjects come from the nineteenth century or have such an elegant photo of themselves. More often than not I am presented with black and white photos of hard working men and women who are squinting in the sunlight, momentarily stopped by a photo in their day to day labors.

Most of those portraits are my popular "cameo" size. (around 9 x 12) Often the clients know the coloring of their ancestors and together we bring to life, in a portrait, the very people who gave them life! Upon completion, I send them the digital file and they in turn create small copies for other interested family members.  A good way to share the memories or history of one's life and remember the important role that earlier family members played in who you are today!

Mother and Daughter portraits

I loved creating this pastel portrait awhile back. My client brought it to me to create as a memory of her late mother. Ironically, at first glance, the grown woman in front of me looked virtually identical to the woman in the original photo. When I realized that it was her mother and that the little girl being read to was HER, it was one of those fun "Oh my gosh" moments :-).
This was a large 18 x 24 portrait that can be handed down to the next generation and the family resemblances admired and appreciated!

1st PLace in the Professional Division

Ah, always good to have a brag or two !

"Will" captured the first place spot in the recent Kerr Lake Art Society Show. Nice little check with it as well :-)


Complete write up here:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Career-Experts/281201728760?ref=sgm#!/notes/vance-granville-community-college/kerr-lake-art-show-on-display-at-vgcc-through-june-11/395530336509

Regal Pit Bull

And from one breed to another....this rather regal looking pit bull. 

I knew those years as a dog show handler would come in handy!

Each breed of dog has it's own "eye." Not everyone should own a pit bull nor should everyone own a corgi, or a poodle......

Created with pastels, this 11 x 14 portrait captures just what is necessary in this breed!

Smokey Mountain Labrador

Sandy spent 17 years as a much loved companion to her owners. When she passed they realized that they did not have as many photos as they thought they had. I combined several photos as well as my knowledge of the Labrador retriever breed to create Sandy as they remembered her. Here she is,in this 16 x 20 pastel, smiling and back in a favorite area, hiking through the Smokey Mountains!

Shhhhhh-a Christmas gift for the owner's wife!

Pastel Collage of girl and horse

This 20 x 20 " pastel collage of Jennifer and her late horse, Bernie was fun to do! I pretty much had free choice in the photo selection as Bernie had passed away the previous year and Jennifer referred me to her Facebook albums. So although Bernie was a talented jumper, he and Jen were also pals and that is what I wanted to convey!
This is the second portrait I have created for Jennifer. And although it was not a surprise to her, it IS her Christmas present courtesy of her generous aunt!

Little sisters

I created this pastel of two adorable sisters from a supplied photo. The parents were delighted with the results and it was great fun to go traditional with the girls!

Jack Russell terrier in the Woods

This little Jack Russell terrier was a favorite with his owners and after he passed they asked me to create a pastel from a photo they had taken one day when he was romping in the woods with them. I removed the red harness at their request and used the textures from the Canson paper to add some texture to the tree.

Theresa
www.mtheresabrown.com

Pastel of Pitt Bull

A cameo pastel of a client's Pit Bull, Isis, created on Canson acid free paper. The brindle color is always a pastel challenge and when working from a photo, it's always good to have some outdoor photos to show the true colors of the coat! The clients were delighted.

Theresa www.MTheresaBrown.com www.OnRoadArtists.com

Pastel of an English Springer Spaniel

I loved creating this pastel for the family. Actually it is a gift for the mother's birthday of their adored family dog who passed suddenly last May. In the only one good photo they had, Breezy is partially asleep. I opted to open his eyes and let him peak out at the viewers with his "Are you thinking about going somewhere?" look. The daughter is thrilled...I'll bet Mom will be too!

Portrait of Teen Sisters

An 18 x 24 pastel portrait of two sisters.
Big smiles can be a definite challenge but I have created many smiling portraits and the key is to know the personality of the subjects. Neither of these girls were the serious, moody sort when I met and photographed them and the teen years need to be remembered as not always enveloped in "teen angst!"
But the important part is what the client thinks!

For years I have dreamed of having a portrait done of my children and like many of us I “never got around to it”. When Theresa Brown became a resident artist at The Cotton Company and I got a chance to not only view a good variety of her work but also talk to her about how she works and the whole process, I realized I had finally found the right person to do this portrait.

I gave the portrait of our two daughters as a surprise birthday present to my husband and he and I are both so happy with the results. When the girls go off to college this portrait which has captured not only their likeness, but also their spirit, will be a reminder of so many happy memories!

Thank you, Theresa!

-Elizabeth Johnson, Wake Forest NC

Pastel portrait of Little Girl in White

Here is an image of a cameo pastel that I just completed for a client of her granddaughter. People love the cameo size. Most frame out to around 11 x 15 with a mat and are the perfect size for gift giving and small apartments and those watching their pennies!

The clients provide the photographs for these and some can be quite challenging! I create many of these cameos for genealogists who bring me very old black and whites (or even tintypes) of their ancestors and I re-create them in the soft colors of pastels.

Super popular for the holidays!

Family Pastel Portrait with westie

This 24 x 30 commissioned pastel portrait was a delight to create! I love zooming in on the subjects and although it means the portraiture must be very accurate when working almost lifesize, I find it actually easier to work larger.
The Jones family was delighted with my portrait of their two daughters, Lacey and Morgan and of course they loved Jack, their lovable Westie.
Although the garden was not in bloom, I recreated my rendition, groomed Jack, changed faces, hairstyles, perspective and a number of small areas to finalize my composition.
I met the family in October, took the photos early in November and completed this pastel right before Christmas! An heirloom for generations!

Working artist at a show

There is one thing that I can always say about being at a show and that is that I am productive! UNless I am at an outdoor show where temperatures have soared to over a 100 degrees, I can keep my nose to the grindstone, chat with people and in general, make it a working day!
Sitting in relative cool recently at a show in Roanoke, Va, I was able to complete several pieces for my clients.

The 28 x 32 pastel portrait to the right was created from combined photos of the client's from 2 years ago. The client has seen the digital version but unless they are out of state, I like them to see the "real thing" for any possible changes!

I will post the other artwork later but working at a show increases not only studio time but the delight that people take in seeing a "real artist" (as they say) at work. Until later!
Theresa