A Boudoir Portrait - The Sexiest Gift a Guy Could Get

We all know that men can be impossible to shop for...that's why I LOVE it when a client approaches me about creating a commission like this one. For her husband's birthday, she wanted this very sexy, very intimate portrait done. I love the photo she chose - shows off her husband's favorite part of her figure, her derriere, yet is also very discreet. I think it's a brilliant combination of sexuality and shyness. boudoir

When I am working with a client on a special (and surprise!) gift such as this, I feel the most important thing I can do is LISTEN to their needs and desires, integrating exactly what they want into their portrait. While I may suggest few things - color, scale, what picture would make the best painting, I know that my number one job is to make the client happy (closely followed by making them look GOOD!)

This series (shown in reverse order from start to finish) shows how frequently I update my clients, getting feedback and sharing in the process. That's another aspect that makes ordering a custom portrait so much fun! The interaction with the artist as the piece is being developed. The anticipation of seeing it from one step to the next!

If you have any questions on the process, or would like some ideas on how to take a great photo for a custom portrait, I would be happy to help you. You can leave a comment or contact me thru my Etsy Shop. I have had female clients create work for their significant others, but I have also had male clients buy gift certificates for their partners as well -trust me ladies - he thinks your gorgeous and loves your figure! Go for it!

You can see more samples of my custom portrait paintings and drawings in this section of my Etsy shop.

PS...many thanks to my fabulous friend/client who said "go for it!" when I asked permission to share her portrait with you. Let me assure you...NO ONE gets to see your pictures if you don't want them to!

Custom Watercolor Portraits of Children - A Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Like all mothers...I think I have the most beautiful children on the planet. And I take a ton of pictures. And occasionally I find the time to draw or paint them! About 3 years ago I did this watercolor of my son Jack - he's about a yr old in the photo, looking at an acorn in front of our house.

I took this photo of Arianna around the same age, also sitting in the driveway. I knew it would make a great partner to Jack's painting - and it only took me a year to finally get started! I would say I'm about 70% finished...I need to work on the colors in the face, make the shadow stronger and of course finish her other arm and foot.

Portraits of children make excellent Mother's day gifts - check out custom portrait samples of my Etsy shop for more ideas! Please contact me if you have any questions.

Figure Drawing...Two Nude Female Models Drawn is Dastel

Our lucky figure drawing group had two lovely models last night! They always do such wonderful gesture poses, and here are two five-minute sketches from our session.

(I actually posed for the first round of 2-minute gestures, clothed, because our models were going to be delayed. As I took the first pose Bruce said "well I guess we get partial nudity". I forgot that I was wearing low-riding jeans and took a pose that, well, made them go VERY low...I am told that the color on my cheeks and the expression on my face was priceless. )

This is a shot of my drawing in progress - Nupastel on Colorfix pastel board. I was trying to be colorful, but mindful of staying in the middle value range, saving highlights and deep shadows until the very end, after making sure all proportions were accurate.

I may still add more color to the environment. I like the composition as it is, and that the legs of the model on the left are only implied, not fully defined.

This is a quick (35 minutes of drawing time) portrait from the opposite side of the room.

This is my mom's drawing! I told you she would come to class with me! Didn't she do a great job? She worked in mostly vine charcoal, and spent a lot of time working on her proportions. She developed light and shadow over the entire drawing at the same time, not getting too dark in any area too quickly. She also blocked in the shapes nicely, not depending on too much line to define the figures. Other than a few marks I made to help define the heads, this is 100% Maria!

Custom Portrait Painting in Watercolor, A Wonderful Gift Idea

The first of my recent commissions was given to it's intended recipient over the weekend, so I am now excited to share it with you!

(This is actually on creamy-white watercolor paper, but I have yet to perfect a photographing technique to capture the white of the background (feel free to post a tip if you have one!)

I worked from a couple of different photos provided from my client, all of which were in kind of a "soft focus". But that worked out ok for the watercolor - as long as I didn't get too "tight" with the detail. I didn't try to define each wrinkle or eye-lash, but rather let the portrait stay soft and beautiful.

This was to honor the client's mother on the her mother's first birthday since her passing last September. I am told that the client's father was extremely touched, and I even received an e-mail from him expressing his gratitude, which really thrilled me. I love being part of a project like this, honoring someone that was obviously loved and cherished by many.

The Busy Week Ahead

So much is happening at one time I don't even know where to begin! Sometimes it helps to write it out...look at it a day at a time...and don't be so overwhelmed! So here it goes!

Monday...Jack has t-ball practice tonight. While Ari and I stay home nursing our runny noses, hopefully Jack will learn that as you are running to the base...you do not stop and play with the chalk line.

Tuesday...Drop off Jack and school and then Ari and I head over to ZUMBA class at http://www.fusiondancefitness.com/ in Woodstock, GA. SO much fun...and I can't wait!

Then...Yippee! Grandma and grandpa arrive from Buffalo!

Wednesday...get LOTS of errands done while Grandma babysits. Oh...and it's Arianna's 2nd birthday! I can't believe it! (That's one of the first first pictures of Jack and Ari together and a picture taken last month!) End the day with drawing at Shane's studio - we're working from the two live female models again (I'll bring my mom to draw with us...that'll be my first opportunity to embarrass her this week...or will it be the other way around?)

Thursday...Back to Zumba class! I'll bring my mom to class...in case you're keeping track...this will be my second chance to embarrass my mom this week...or will it be the other way around?

Friday...Kickboxing class...I like my mother a little too much to subject her to the torture of this class...she and Ari can hang out at home! I hope I make it thru class! And I think Hubby and i will have a well deserved date-night (oh yeah - today's Monday...I hereby declare my undying love for my husband! And he really deserves it this week - he turned all of his own white socks right-side-out so that I didn't have to do it on laundry day. I really love that man)

Saturday...FINALLY spend some time at the tour home in Milton where I have some of my pastel portraits on display. I'll be there all day selling my art and working on a portrait - come and watch me paint! The house is GORGEOUS and all the money goes to a great cause! The Homestead Presented by the Roswell Women's Club http://roswellwomansclub.org/

Sunday...big birthday party for my sweet girl!

Three Colorful Pastel Figure Drawings from the Live Nude Female Model

There's nothing like fresh supplies to get your creative juices flowing! I just recieved a big package of colored, textured pastel paper and was raring to go when we had our figure drawing group last night. I strated with a deep blue piece of paper and grabbed lots of bright colors. I'm pleased with the composition and alot of the lost/found lines, and the variety of ways that I defined her figure, but I think I still need to work on the face and perhaps soften the background.

I didn't want to over-work the drawing above, so I quickly grabbed a piece of sap green pastel paper and three colors - orange, bluish grey and red and sat on the other side of the room for this quick (about 5- 10 minute) sketch. The colors worked very well together!

The last post of the night was an "artists request" - we wanted to draw the model's gorgeous hair down! So she struck the dramatic pose and I positioned the light high above her head, creating a lot of interesting shadows, especially in her torso. This is a warm, earthy paper (almost the color of the Georgia clay!) and I was surprised at the beautiful color relationships that I could build with my Nupastels. The upper left corner is my favorite spot! That's a light mint green layered over a rich magenta...awesome combo!

A Variety of Gesture Drawings from Figure Drawing Sessions

Hi!!! I'm doing a little bit of everything today...I painted a mini watercolor, gessoed some masonite so I can start a new painting, and cleaned the studio a bit. The mini watercolor was based on a gesture drawing, and I realized as I flipped thru my sketchbook that there were some I hadn't shared with you before! So here is a collection of gesture drawings for you...a few that have been posted before, a few that are new!