As I indicate on my home page, throughout the entire existence of this
site, I've given scant attention to promoting portraiture of people. I
guess I had it fixed in my mind that since pets are such a dear love of
mine, people portraits would be less "fun". Pet portraits just
seemed to take over as the almost exclusive character of the site. That
accounts, I think, for the rather limited selection of samples of people
portraits that I have to display here. And, those people portraits which
I am showing samples of, generally are combined pet portraits and people
portraits. Let me assure anyone interested in having a portrait done, that
you do not have to own a pet, or have a pet with you in your photos, for
me to do a very fine portrait of you, or of an individual you might wish
to present a portrait to, as a gift! :-)
A few years ago, I was contacted by the Operations Manager of the Detroit
Red Wings Alumni Association, Mr. Dave Goetze, to see if I would consider
donating a custom portrait of Red Wings "Hall of Fame" star,
Ted Lindsay, for a fund raising auction at their annual dinner. As a long
time, Red Wings fan, I didn't hesitate before agreeing. The portrait below
is the result of our collaboration, and I am pleased to say that it brought
a very sizeable winning bid. The following year, Dave again asked if I
would donate an original portrait, this time of Red Wings' favorite, Shawn
Burr. Below Tedd's portrait, is that of Shawn Burr. I show them here as
"credentials", for my people portraits. I will only add that
it is my hope, and my dream, to someday be allowed to produce a portrait
of recently retired, and future "Hall of Fame" inductee, Steve
Yzerman. In my time as a Red Wings' fan, no man who played the game, displayed
more skill, professionalism, intensity, team leadership, and "class"...on
and off the ice...than Steve Yzerman.
Now, having said that, here are a few samples of my "everyday"
people portraiture, leading off with a portrait I did of my Girlfriend's
daughter, Amy, and her new puppy "Cisco", a Golden Retriever.
Cisco certainly loves his new "Mom", and doesn't mind showing
it, in this darling pose. The decision to fade out Amy's rear, was an artistic
decision, made because I was becoming concerned, as I studied the progress
of the portrait, that more focus than I cared to give, was going to the
upper portion of the portrait. I wanted to focus the viewer's attention
to the middle and bottom of the drawing, where all the emotional "action"
is.
It's only fair, if I'm going to show a people portrait of Amy and Cisco,
that I show a portrait of my girlfriend's son, Patrick", looking his
intimidating best, in his high school football uniform. The photo I had
to work from wasn't the best, and what I see, looking at this photo of
the portrait I did of Patrick, doesn't display the kind of minute attention
to detail that I prefer to show in both my pet portraits and my people
portraits. Does anyone spot what's missing? Take note of Patrick's forearm,
resting on the grass...where is all the detailed musculature, and ligaments
you'd expect to see, especially as it's in a tensed, flexed posture, supporting
his upper body weight. Although I draw what I see in a photo very, very
well, that detail was missing from the the source photo, which was a little
soft. Apart from that shortcoming in the portrait, I think it's a nice
portrait of a good looking young man. I know I wouldn't want to be a ball
carrier, seeing this athlete coming at me!
I have some reservation, showing this sample people and pet portrait. Regrettably,
my own failing as a photographer, in this case, produced a shot that came
out far too "bluish", and which washed out the details in Stephanie's
black hair completely. I also did a rather poor job on her burgundy, velvet
dress, failing to show the soft sheen highlights, characteristic of the
way light reflects off velvet. Still, it's such a sweetly precious pose
of a young lady and her best buddy that I felt compelled to show it. I
am pleased with the detail I got in Stephanie's face, and with Trucker's
depiction, in this not-the-best photo of mine.
This portrait is several years old, of a young lady who passed on from illness, I believe. It is, in many respects, one of the best pieces I have ever done. I don't recall what was in the background of the source photo that my customer provided, but I'd guess that it was a professionally photographed shot, perhaps done right in the photographer's studio. It was brilliantly sharp and clear, and shows what is possible for a portrait artist, when you have a great photo to work from. The detail I captured, and the accuracy of this people portrait, are first rate, if I may say so without sounding too boastful. My improvised background may seem a little grandiose, something like Michelangelo might have created for a glorious, religious painting, but I think it's in keeping with Christian beliefs about a Heavenly ascension when we leave this physical world. Sandy was a beautiful girl, and I'm sure is still greatly missed by her loved ones.
This was my most recent commission involving a combined people portrait
and pet portrait, and ranks as one of my favorite portraits. It was done
as a Christmas gift for Russ, in December 2006. Russ is a strikingly handsome
gent, and Riley is a glorious example of the Golden Retriever breed. This
is the first time I've had a customer send me a photo of the subject of
a portrait, alongside his portrait. So, here, too, is that photo of Russ
and his portrait. For you ladies who may be visiting this page, no, I don't
have Russ' phone number, and his beloved wife would object strongly to
my giving it to you anyway. Quite a "hunk", huh?
| Last, for now, but "not least", is this portrait of a gentleman
named Jim, taking a snooze with "Edward", who appears to be a
Lhasa Apso. I just love this particular portrait for it's sweetness, which
I think I captured quite admirably, and for it's depth of detail. I don't
especially like portraiture that lacks "dimension", a sense of
"3D". I don't especially care for portraits that look flat from
too little use of shadow and light, which I think are needed to make the
portrait feel that you can step right into it. I really got this one right! |
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