Among the many wonderful people I've met as an artist are the couple who live in Morgandy's house. They had a house portrait painted for their daughter and the wife later commissioned this colored pencil of Morgandy as a Christmas surprise for her husband. The surprise was a huge success! This is one aspect of painting I thoroughly enjoy: making people happy with my art…
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The only photograph the customer had was a snow scene without the decorations. With his instructions we were able to create a house fully decorated for Christmas. The completed watercolor made a memorable surprise gift for the customer's wife…
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This watercolor boat painting was a Father's Day gift for Dad's office. People sometimes hesitate when requesting something out of the ordinary but as long as the photo is clear there should be no problem. I felt the boat's name was interesting and using this view to include the name made the painting a more personal one…
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I used this colored pencil portrait as a sample for one of the gift shops I work with. I tend to prefer colored pencil for most pet portraits as I'm able to capture more fur texture with this medium. I guess this preference goes way back to my earliest pencil drawings. I started with pencil studies and really enjoyed my pencil work. Clients kept asking for "color" so I gradually added watercolor to the drawings, doing the watercolor washes first, then adding pencil. My portraits are now either colored pencil or watercolor.
A pet portrait in either medium would make a special gift for the avid animal lover…
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My main goal when painting a house portrait is to have the viewer feel they can walk right up to the front door and go inside ... that familiar feeling when you pull into the driveway and know that you're "home".
When doing a painting for an anniversary gift I may be given photographs of the house as it is currently. The client then asks me to paint the house as it used to be. This can be accomplished easily based on details provided by the client from their childhood memories of living in the house. These notes may be accompanied by old photographs.
If I have been successful in capturing a memory, this is the type of portrait that brings on "happy tears" from both the client and recipients…
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This watercolor was painted from several old black and white photographs submitted via regular mail. The family commissioned this work as a remembrance for their parents who were about to move to a smaller living space. It could also be a wonderful 50th anniversary gift!
There was a large tree in the yard blocking the view of the front door. The clients asked that this tree be removed. I actually moved the tree to the right a little as I felt its size and age confirmed the era of the home. After I did this, I had to ask for help with the door detail! The client was able to find an old photograph of the inside of the door and I just reversed the detail to make it an exterior view. The clients and their parents were very pleased with the finished portrait…
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I was delighted when the client allowed me to choose the medium for painting this dog portrait. His beautiful fur lent itself very well to rendering in colored pencil. I feel I was able to show much more detail and texture using colored pencil instead of watercolor. Of course, the final decision is always up to the client!
This portrait was purchased as a gift from the bride-to-be to her fiance. As occasionally happens, the dog had died recently and she felt a remembrance would be a cherished gift…
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