Unexpected Commissions For A Lady Artist
Now that portrait painting has reached its 20th century heyday, an American woman is experiencing wealth flowing from three different continents. The pendulum of art has swung very strongly back to the figurative, said this artist, who started her own artistic career as an abstract painter. We're back to taking note of the human appearance.
Industries, universities and hospitals that used to be satisfied with photographs of their presidents and board chairmen by signature photographers now are commissioning portraits. The ancestry and wealth of the rich and famous are symbolized by these portraits.
Her brush has traveled to Europe, the United States, and Africa where her husband used to head the African operation for an American cosmetics firm. She shows a preference for painting at the homes of the subjects rather than do the portrait painting at her studio or at her twin sister's studio.
The artist says that it takes her three weeks to paint a portrait in a studio, during which she might have four to seven sittings. It would not take that long painting on location, which would last only five days. Where the artist paints affects what she paints. She usually goes to the subject's home to share a meal with the subject, and also to see the kind of home the portrait will have.
You will see on the autobiography of one famous actress the portrait that the artist drew of her. The portraits she has done include the family owners of the five and dime fortune, as well as the makers of a famous line of greeting cards. Also among the people who portraits this artist has painted include a tribal chief from Nigeria and Dominican monk from Arkansas. Her portraits' worldwide fame kept her guessing where the next commissions she would get would come from.
Even if she doesn't practice flattery, she paints her subject in the most flattering light. Use of costume is negotiated. She openly agrees to hunting pinks, university robes, and the favorite dress of her subjects which they want to wear in their portraits. What she would prefer as a costume for women is an informal dress. Before she paints her subjects, she gives ideas on makeup and insists on hairdos that are a day old.
She engages in conversation with her subjects while painting. She wants their lips to move so that she captures them into a smile. She explained that if a person is bored you will be able to see it in the portrait. After consulting her book of photographs of her work, clients can then choose how they want their portrait to turn out.
Sketches in ink, oil and tempera in sepia tones are very popular, too. Of the many sketches she would sometimes put of one person on a canvas, she would put only one which is the most detailed in the foreground. What you get is something you would likely see in a sketch book. Because a gallery owner insisted on showing a self portrait of this artist in a two woman show in New York 20 years ago, her career in portraiture had begun. It was the attraction of the show that was most memorable.
Industries, universities and hospitals that used to be satisfied with photographs of their presidents and board chairmen by signature photographers now are commissioning portraits. The ancestry and wealth of the rich and famous are symbolized by these portraits.
Her brush has traveled to Europe, the United States, and Africa where her husband used to head the African operation for an American cosmetics firm. She shows a preference for painting at the homes of the subjects rather than do the portrait painting at her studio or at her twin sister's studio.
The artist says that it takes her three weeks to paint a portrait in a studio, during which she might have four to seven sittings. It would not take that long painting on location, which would last only five days. Where the artist paints affects what she paints. She usually goes to the subject's home to share a meal with the subject, and also to see the kind of home the portrait will have.
You will see on the autobiography of one famous actress the portrait that the artist drew of her. The portraits she has done include the family owners of the five and dime fortune, as well as the makers of a famous line of greeting cards. Also among the people who portraits this artist has painted include a tribal chief from Nigeria and Dominican monk from Arkansas. Her portraits' worldwide fame kept her guessing where the next commissions she would get would come from.
Even if she doesn't practice flattery, she paints her subject in the most flattering light. Use of costume is negotiated. She openly agrees to hunting pinks, university robes, and the favorite dress of her subjects which they want to wear in their portraits. What she would prefer as a costume for women is an informal dress. Before she paints her subjects, she gives ideas on makeup and insists on hairdos that are a day old.
She engages in conversation with her subjects while painting. She wants their lips to move so that she captures them into a smile. She explained that if a person is bored you will be able to see it in the portrait. After consulting her book of photographs of her work, clients can then choose how they want their portrait to turn out.
Sketches in ink, oil and tempera in sepia tones are very popular, too. Of the many sketches she would sometimes put of one person on a canvas, she would put only one which is the most detailed in the foreground. What you get is something you would likely see in a sketch book. Because a gallery owner insisted on showing a self portrait of this artist in a two woman show in New York 20 years ago, her career in portraiture had begun. It was the attraction of the show that was most memorable.