Key
 

Mike,

Thank you very much for your reply.

I think this is the key and put so well! I will print this and add it to my notebook under 'sittings' where I keep notes for myself. I see what you mean, a client falls in love with one phots and what am I to do? Insist on painting a different one? No, better to not even see the ones I choose not to paint. And I eliminated some, but I feel now that I didn't put enough thought into the final product. Otherwise I would have eliminated more. All but 2 or 3 probably. And then that would leave some of the decision making to the client.

I agree that this is a vital lesson. Now I know to think long and hard about any photo I show to a client.

And yes, it would be easier to just have the mom sit in the other room from the beginning instead of asking her to leave.

Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughtful comments, they are very much apprecaited,

Joan

Joan,

If you could humor me for one more thought.

About managing the people ... It has been said here often that you have to walk the walk and talk the talk, regardless of what you may think of your own position on the capability ladder.

I am reminded of a movie that I saw recently called "Catch me if you can," a true story I'm told. The stars were Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. Leo was the great impostor and Tom Hanks the FBI agent in charge of trying to capture him.

Leonardo's gift was not that he could fly a plane, do surgery or practice law, his gift was that he could convince all those around him that he could.

The more you do it the more comfortable you become with your program and the easier it is to convince people that your program is the only program worth having.

I understand that the real life character that Leo played in the movie actually lives here in Tulsa, OK. Why heck, for all you know it could be me.

Walking the walk
 

Hi Mike,

I saw that movie too. With a 14 year old girl in the house, we're not about to miss any movie with Leo in it!

I agree completely with this statement. I'm a firm believer in 'fake it 'til you make it'. I used to do freelance graphic design work. I didn't have much experience at all but I went out on my own. I would give my presentation to a client and just basically talk him or her into the job. The one thing I knew for sure was that I knew more about graphic design and logos and brochures than they did. I never said "I don't know", it was always "I'll talk to the printer (or whoever) and get back to you". Getting the job in the first place was 90% b.s. (or to put it nicely, selling) and at that point only 10% skill. It wasn't so much what my portfolio looked like (letterheads, logos), it was convincing those business men that I knew what I was doing and they should let me handle it. I can't remember a job I didn't get.

So, I haven't practiced my 'spiel' much yet for portraiture. I got an impromptu opportunity though when the mom showed up for this last photo shoot and started asking me about my training, etc. I did study in Holland under a wonderful portrait artist so that sounds pretty good! I will elaborate on that next time. They want to, need to, hear this stuff.

I can see that after the conversation I had with the mom that I need some good answers to my 'philosophy' of portraiture and also my style. By my style I mean whether it's traditional, more contemporary, etc. I got all kinds of questions!

Actually, this is the fun part. Getting a new portrait going. I love the design process and I loved sharing it with the client and her mom. It's the painting that's hard for me! But, of course, they will never know that. See, you teach and I learn! :)

Thanks,

Joan

Hi Joan,
If this is a painting you will do to practice painting a portrait, why don

Both!
 

Hi Allan,

Thank you for your post, that's a great thought. You seem to be able to paint fairly quickly, judging from the three paintings you are doing of your daughter. I, unfortunately, am a very slow painter and I'm still figuring a lot out. I did think of it and I would love to paint them both, thanks for the encouragement.

Joan

Foundation building
 

Joan,

The only photo that could possibly be interpreted for portrait use is the standing figure.
Alas, it has a few problems as I see it.

A: There seems to be two sources of light, one warm, one cool. The face is warm, the hands greenish blue. It is better to learn how to resolve that than to rely on photoshop or some other computer program.

B: The choice of a background. It is baggy and it's heavily draped folds conflicts with the dress. The floor area is unresolved.

C: There is no color plan. Is it a red-green blue orange color scheme? What is your color design plan.

D: The dress is not what I would have personally picked for this young lady. She is rather busty and the frieze of rosettes and the sheen of the fabric only accentuate the problem.

One must approach clients with confidence and knowledge, only learning proper procedures will give you this advantage. I doubt that the Leo Caprio character could paint a portrait with bluffs.

A good photo course would be useful as well as subscriptions to W and Town and Country. We must learn how the gentry dress if we want to present them well or those who seek to emulate them.

This, of course presumes that you have put in the requisite time honing your portrait skills. One year of learning tonal drawing and one year of just painting the figure and head would be the basic minimum. Mike Dodson is setting a good example here on the forum with his series of head studies from life. They are excellent and fresh and will stand him in good stead when he has to make color notes from life.
A workshop or an atelier are also excellent options.

How far we go depends on how we lay our foundation work. We can thrill our friends and family with our copies of photos or we can diligently prepare ourselves for a more discerning and better paying clientele.

Sharon has, as always, given excellent advice. A great painting cannot be made from flawed reference.

Advice
 

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for your thoughtful post and your excellent advice.

I certainly hope I didn't give the impression that I could fake my way through portraiture. I was strictly talking about answering questions with confidence when talking to clients. I have a long long way to go with my painting.

I am working at building a foundation, unfortunately I haven't found a local instructor or local workshop that can help with this. I've exhausted the drawing and portrait classes at the MFA art school here in Houston.

That being said, I find myself learning so much from this forum and advice from professional artists like you is invaluable to me. Thank you again for taking a look at this Sharon and for your advice.

Joan

Peggy Baumgaertner is teaching some top notch workshops in Texas later this year: http://portraitartist.com/baumgaertner/workshops.htm

Even if you need to get a hotel nearby to attend, I'm sure you (or any artist) would feel it was time and money well spent.