I know other peoples’ family portraits aren’t always the most exciting artwork to look at, which is part of the reason why I don’t share all of my commissions publicly, but this is one I’m especially proud of. Not only because of the meaningful concept, but because of the rough references I had to pull magic out of.
I was asked by my client to combine this photo of her grandma in an old photograph…
with this much more recent photo of her father, which was facing the wrong direction and with different lighting….yikes!
I really had to do my very best to blow up the image and pull out as many details as possible. Like these lovely blue eyes I didn’t even realize she had!
Here’s a little side-by-side comparison to see what I was able to get out of these images. I have turned down super out of focus image references in the past, simply explaining that I can only use what’s there so if the ‘info’ is not in the photo, then the painting surely won’t be able to make it up accurately.
I’m glad I didn’t have to turn down this one though, since my clients grandma is deceased and that’s the only photo she was able to get of her. Luckily the dad’s pic was much clearer and I was able to flip it and rework the shadows just a bit to match the grandmother’s light source.
And I even made a lil video of the process:
Well I will say it was definitely a challenge, but you know I kinda like those, so all was great in the end.
And most important of all my client loved it, she even told me it brought her own mama to tears. That definitely makes it all worth it:)
If you’re interested in a custom oil painting or pencil drawing of your family, feel free to drop me a message at caleigh@caleighbirdart.com
12.22.2021