Military commission
 

This is a commission. The client was very specific about what he wanted. He wanted the flag in the background and all the badges, medals, and insignias. I hate these things. He didn't want to spend much money, so I did it with pastel pencils. It makes me laugh everytime I look at it. But I don't know what else I could do with it.

I should add, that this 15" x 20" inch portrait took me 40 hours to accomplish. I get $12 an hour to drive the school bus. So if I use that figure, this portrait should cost at least $480. Most people don't expect to pay that much. That is why I quit doing these things in the first place. It's very hard work, for very little money.

Linda,

I very much like this piece. It almost has the feel of a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover.

I think that the poster-like quality was a good solution in order to include the required elements.

And, yes, you need to charge more.

Thank you, Chris.

It's very hard for me to like this piece. It's a comfort to me that you see some worth in it. In the past I would find these things difficult, not worth the money. I would think that it was because I made so many mistakes that it was difficult. But this time I just worked straight through, from start to finish, with no problems, and it was still forty hours and "difficult". So even at bus drivers' wages it needs to cost at least $500.

Linda,

I like this piece too. You did a great job on their faces and I'm sure they were happy with the result. The only thing I can see that bothers me is the color of the flag. It seems a little washed out on my monitor. Maybe a deeper red and blue. Other than that, I like it.
I can understand though why you wouldn't want to devote any more time to it.

On my next portrait, I am going to keep track of my time. If I charged what I make in the real world, my portrait prices would triple.

The flag was darker originally, but I wanted the faces to stand out, so went over the flag with pale blue pastel to make it fall back and appear fuzzy in contrast to the faces. If I put more detail on the flag, the faces would be lost. I'm glad that you like it though. Thank you.

I think this is a great piece. It's always hard to do a portrait when the client has a lot of input. :) I try to discourage them from helping me plan, but sometimes they are quite particular. Anyway, you did a wonderful job with it.

One suggestion: since your light source comes from the right, the flag behind them (center and left) is correct to look light because the light would hit about there. But your right side and top right corner could logically be darkened and it would balance the painting out. Just my opinion.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you all for your comments and support. Cheryl, you are right about darkening the flag on the edges of the picture, it would probably help the composition. I guess it might be the right side that would be darker. I'm not sure. Thanks again.

Linda,

I have followed your work here and on WetCanvas and really like your style. This portrait is well done, I think. I agree with you that the flag needs to fade into the background and not compete with the subjects.

Is most of your work done in pastel pencils?

It's probably more truthful to say that the vast majority of my commissions (literally hundreds) were done in colored pencil. That was twenty years ago, when I had a different name and different address. I got divorced, remarried, and moved, and realized that the amount of time involved doing these would be better spent doing something easier, that paid more money, like school bus driving. The plan however was to spend my time doing art work that "I" liked. So I wanted to loosen my style and learn to use more sophisticated media. I chose soft pastel because it forces loose renditions. No one knew who I was, because of the lost identity. I have not exhibited anywhere in those 15 years. I had to rebuild my personal life, raise children, etc. Now the children are raised and the internet allows me to complete the education that I never had.

However, for a piece like this I reverted to pastel "pencil" because the faces are only four inches long, and soft pastel would be difficult to use for such fine detail. It's like all the people that tell you that you must use only "big" brushes to paint with. If you want to get a likeness on such a tiny face, you need small brushes.

That about answers the question. Sorry to be so verbose. I greatly appreciate your support.