Sunday, December 29, 2013

A Christmas Gift

Man's Best Friends

One of the nicest things about doing portraits are when they are commissioned as a gift. This painting was completed just a couple of weeks before Christmas to be a gift to a loved one. There is a story behind every portrait that Norman illustrates. We listen to their stories before starting a painting. In this case it is about a man and his dogs. 
Nothing better than a mother's smile of approval on this one.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Working in Black and White


A client came to us with an old small black and white photograph of herself and her mother that she though would be nice enlarged to a 14" X 11" size. The photo was time warn and not sharp. It would look all the less sharp when enlarged. With old black and white photos, unless we know the coloring of our clients and are given some creative room, doing a full color painting becomes problematic.

So Norm and I suggested to render it as a highly rendered black and white pencil drawing as shown. It would keep its softness and look beautiful on archival paper.

All the better for a Christmas gift!