in Commissioning
A Fine Art Portrait in Atlanta
These are some factors to consider when commissioning a portrait:
1. A fine art portrait often symbolizes the accomplishment of a personal or professional milestone.
2. An oil, or pastel painting has a timeless presence that is absent in photographic portraits.
3. Your own original portrait is both an investment and a legacy... a work of art designed to show you at your best and become a cherished treasure for your lifetime as well as generations to follow.
4. The custom painted portrait is the most intimate of art forms. It not only conveys an accurate likeness of a person, but also communicates the “essence" of that individual, his or her personality.
5. In a world filled with throwaway objects of mass production, the personal nature of portraiture is to be especially treasured.
The General Process with Jeff
Having a portrait painted is a special event in one's life.
The first step in commissioning a portrait is a planning consultation held at the client’s home or office or over the phone . The portrait is planned with discussion about the size and sitting, (formal, informal, indoor, outdoors, and with or without background). Dimensions are taken of the area where the portrait will be displayed. At this time a date, time and place for the photo session is set.
When choosing a lifestyle to portray: Formal or Informal? Consider your lifestyle and where the portrait will hang in making the choice of a formal or informal look. Traditionally, outdoor portraits are considered less formal and indoor portraits more formal. However, an indoor portrait could be quite casual and vice versa. Using a combination of factors including clothing, setting, and character of the sitter or subject, the portrait can be tailored to each individual's tastes
The portrait frame is an integral part of any work of art. It is also discussed and specific recommendations are made in regard to size, color, shape, etc. What to wear for a portrait varies with individuals and type of portrait commissioned: Neutral tones such as, brown, white, cream, burgundy, and beige will not be tiring to the eye. Choosing clothes with a classic style will insure that your portrait will not look dated in later-years.
Next, I begin the portrait by spending some time talking, with the subject to gather information concerning the personality, physical characteristics, and interests of the subject.
I then travel to the client's location for the photo session and begin around 8:00 to 10:00 am with a meeting to discuss the general poses of the portrait. During the sitting, a SLR camera is used to record a variety of poses and expressions, eliminating the need for time consuming preliminary sketches. Between 150 and 200 pictures are usually taken. After this, there is a break for lunch (The files are download to a Tablet). When the images are ready, the artist and the client sit down and review the expression and pose and choose the ones that are most like the sitter. If any retakes are required they are done at this time.
If travel is required outside of the Atlanta Metro area, the artist travels to your location and stays anywhere from one to two days. Travel and accommodation fees are extra. A deposit of one half is normally due at the initial preparation or sitting.
What are Pastels
Pastel is pure pigment, the same pigment used in making all fine art paints. It is the most permanent of all media when applied to conservation ground and properly framed. Pastel has no liquid binder that may cause other media to darken, fade, yellow, crack or blister with time. Pastels from the 16th century exist today, as fresh as the day they were painted. No restoration needed, ever!
Pastel does not at all refer to pale colors, as the word is commonly used in cosmetic and fashion terminology. The name Pastel comes from the French word "pastische" because the pure, powdered pigment is ground into a paste with a small amount of gum binder, and then roiled into sticks. The infinite variety of colors in the Pastel palette range from soft and subtle to bold and brilliant.
An artwork is created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment across an abrasive ground, embedding the color in the "tooth" of the paper, sandboard or canvas. If the ground is completely covered with Pastel, the work is considered a Pastel painting; leaving much of the ground exposed produces a Pastel sketch. Techniques vary with individual artists. Pastel can be blended or used with visible strokes. Many artists favor the medium because it allows a spontaneous approach. There is no drying time and no allowances to be made for a change in color due to drying.
Historically, Pastel can be traced back to the 16th century. Its invention is attributed to the German painter Johann Thiele. A Venetian woman artist, Rosalba Camera was the first to make consistent use of Pastel. Chardin did portraits with an open stroke, while LaTour preferred the blended finish. Thereafter, a galaxy of famous artists . . . Watteau, Copley, Delacroix, Millet, Manet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, Bonnard, Glackens, Whistler, Hassam, William Merritt Chase . . . just to list the more familiar names, used Pastel as finished work rather than preliminary sketches.
Degas was the most prolific user of Pastel, and its champion. His protégé, Marry Cassett, introduced the Impressionists and Pastel to her friends in Philadelphia and Washington, and thus to the United States. In the Spring of 1983, Sotheby Parke Bernet sold at auction two Degas Pastels for more than $3,000,000 each! Both Pastels were painted before 1880.
Today, Pastel paintings have the stature of oil and watercolor as a major fine art medium. Many of our most renowned living artists have distinguished themselves in Pastel, and enriched the art world with this beautiful medium.
Note: Pastel must never be confused with colored chalk. Chalk is a limestone substance impregnated with dyes.
Pastel is sometimes combined with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, charcoal or pencil in a "mixed-media" painting, but it is incompatible with oil paint.
A Fine Art Portrait in Atlanta
These are some factors to consider when commissioning a portrait:
1. A fine art portrait often symbolizes the accomplishment of a personal or professional milestone.
2. An oil, or pastel painting has a timeless presence that is absent in photographic portraits.
3. Your own original portrait is both an investment and a legacy... a work of art designed to show you at your best and become a cherished treasure for your lifetime as well as generations to follow.
4. The custom painted portrait is the most intimate of art forms. It not only conveys an accurate likeness of a person, but also communicates the “essence" of that individual, his or her personality.
5. In a world filled with throwaway objects of mass production, the personal nature of portraiture is to be especially treasured.
The General Process with Jeff
Having a portrait painted is a special event in one's life.
The first step in commissioning a portrait is a planning consultation held at the client’s home or office or over the phone . The portrait is planned with discussion about the size and sitting, (formal, informal, indoor, outdoors, and with or without background). Dimensions are taken of the area where the portrait will be displayed. At this time a date, time and place for the photo session is set.
When choosing a lifestyle to portray: Formal or Informal? Consider your lifestyle and where the portrait will hang in making the choice of a formal or informal look. Traditionally, outdoor portraits are considered less formal and indoor portraits more formal. However, an indoor portrait could be quite casual and vice versa. Using a combination of factors including clothing, setting, and character of the sitter or subject, the portrait can be tailored to each individual's tastes
The portrait frame is an integral part of any work of art. It is also discussed and specific recommendations are made in regard to size, color, shape, etc. What to wear for a portrait varies with individuals and type of portrait commissioned: Neutral tones such as, brown, white, cream, burgundy, and beige will not be tiring to the eye. Choosing clothes with a classic style will insure that your portrait will not look dated in later-years.
Next, I begin the portrait by spending some time talking, with the subject to gather information concerning the personality, physical characteristics, and interests of the subject.
I then travel to the client's location for the photo session and begin around 8:00 to 10:00 am with a meeting to discuss the general poses of the portrait. During the sitting, a SLR camera is used to record a variety of poses and expressions, eliminating the need for time consuming preliminary sketches. Between 150 and 200 pictures are usually taken. After this, there is a break for lunch (The files are download to a Tablet). When the images are ready, the artist and the client sit down and review the expression and pose and choose the ones that are most like the sitter. If any retakes are required they are done at this time.
If travel is required outside of the Atlanta Metro area, the artist travels to your location and stays anywhere from one to two days. Travel and accommodation fees are extra. A deposit of one half is normally due at the initial preparation or sitting.
What are Pastels
Pastel is pure pigment, the same pigment used in making all fine art paints. It is the most permanent of all media when applied to conservation ground and properly framed. Pastel has no liquid binder that may cause other media to darken, fade, yellow, crack or blister with time. Pastels from the 16th century exist today, as fresh as the day they were painted. No restoration needed, ever!
Pastel does not at all refer to pale colors, as the word is commonly used in cosmetic and fashion terminology. The name Pastel comes from the French word "pastische" because the pure, powdered pigment is ground into a paste with a small amount of gum binder, and then roiled into sticks. The infinite variety of colors in the Pastel palette range from soft and subtle to bold and brilliant.
An artwork is created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment across an abrasive ground, embedding the color in the "tooth" of the paper, sandboard or canvas. If the ground is completely covered with Pastel, the work is considered a Pastel painting; leaving much of the ground exposed produces a Pastel sketch. Techniques vary with individual artists. Pastel can be blended or used with visible strokes. Many artists favor the medium because it allows a spontaneous approach. There is no drying time and no allowances to be made for a change in color due to drying.
Historically, Pastel can be traced back to the 16th century. Its invention is attributed to the German painter Johann Thiele. A Venetian woman artist, Rosalba Camera was the first to make consistent use of Pastel. Chardin did portraits with an open stroke, while LaTour preferred the blended finish. Thereafter, a galaxy of famous artists . . . Watteau, Copley, Delacroix, Millet, Manet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, Bonnard, Glackens, Whistler, Hassam, William Merritt Chase . . . just to list the more familiar names, used Pastel as finished work rather than preliminary sketches.
Degas was the most prolific user of Pastel, and its champion. His protégé, Marry Cassett, introduced the Impressionists and Pastel to her friends in Philadelphia and Washington, and thus to the United States. In the Spring of 1983, Sotheby Parke Bernet sold at auction two Degas Pastels for more than $3,000,000 each! Both Pastels were painted before 1880.
Today, Pastel paintings have the stature of oil and watercolor as a major fine art medium. Many of our most renowned living artists have distinguished themselves in Pastel, and enriched the art world with this beautiful medium.
Note: Pastel must never be confused with colored chalk. Chalk is a limestone substance impregnated with dyes.
Pastel is sometimes combined with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, charcoal or pencil in a "mixed-media" painting, but it is incompatible with oil paint.
Jeffery Spicer
Fine Art Portraiture in Atlanta GA. 1561Linksview Way Stone Mountain, GA. 30088 Call: 270-366-9614 |