Brother & Sister
 

Here's another new one. 32" x 32".

Very nice! I like how the setting is as important as the people. Is this a commissioned portrait or intended as a figurative piece?

Thanks Michele.

This is a commissioned portrait. Your question couldn't make me happier.- it's been my goal to make portraits that blur the lines between portrait and figurative, but it's rare to have a client who allows their kids' portrait have the faces de-emphasized like this

I think portraits that have a figurative quality like this stand a better chance to stay out of the family attic in future.

And maybe even have a chance to be simply apprceciated as fine art someday....!

Linda, I especially like your greens--very natural--and your handling of the roses. The sky is clear and luminous. I'd love to see some closeups of these areas.

here ya go Alexandra - by the way - love your work on your web site!

Linda

So true, at least in my experience. But you're right that this approach brings the work much closer to being a work of art able to stand on its own merits outside of the family.

I think at one end of the continuum of the things we call "portraits" there are school photographs, taken purely for documentation purposes. "Here's what Billy looked like at age 12". This painting is at the other end of the spectrum, with a different purpose entirely. Clients typically want the documentation thing, sometimes at the expense of whatever it is that we call "art".

When painting my own son I have gone for the straight-on face, so I'm as guilty as my clients.

But the more examples of paintings like this, the more I think people will take the chance themselves. Many times when I talk with prospective clients, I describe the work as "custom fine art that your kids are in", which seems to help them think of the potential a portrait can be.

Well put.

I'm about to begin a series of three paintings of siblings. We photographed the oldest one, a lovely young teen, out by a lake earlier this autumn. The setting is beautiful. I think I will propose a much more distant cropping than I usually do, so that it becomes more of a "figure in the landscape" painting, and see what they say.

Linda, I've seen your work throughout this site as I've gone excavating. This last group of works are the only ones I have been able to congratulate you on. May I say how lovely they all are in just one post? But this one particularly stands out for me. I'd hang it on my wall, and they certainly aren't my kids. Interesting dialogue on the intersection between portraiture and fine art, by the way. Janet

Thanks so much Janet, and thanks for taking the time to look at my other work. I don't post here much but I've been around for about 5 years, when I first started painting and having the goal to be a portrait artist. Thanks again.
L

Linda, thanks for the closeups. Your work is beautiful at close range, too. It's aways interesting to me to "hear" artists discussing how to define portraiture. I don't think it is posssible to clearly define the boundaries between portraiture, figurative art, and landscape. There are all sorts of variations. This forum focuses on traditional portraiture; that makes me think of Sargent's plein aire paintings of his friends in landscapes. Of course he's not the only one to do this--I just happened to think of his art. It's arguable, but I would say these works are just as much meant to be portraits of specific people than they are meant to be landscapes or figurative works. Though your work is unique, there's plenty of tradition to support what you are doing.

Thanks for your support Alexandra. On the discussion of portraiture in it's place in art, I think it's also that much more intriguing when you consider that it is by nature a collaborative process between client and artist - more that I think any other general facet of art. We have to meld the artist's personality with the subjects. How we choose to include ourselves in the painting in up to us. A commission is the honor to being the medium by which someone else reveals themselves, AND being asked to exert an artistic voice in harmony with that. I know that's an obvious thing to say but to me it is the heart of the daily fun of this career.

NOW you're talking, Linda! I'm with you on this one.

I'm catching up, here - looking around at all the stuff I've missed over the past couple months. I HAD to comment on this one. Fine, fine execution in a genre that's right up my alley. Terrific!

Linda,
I love this piece. It reads so well and the composition is smashing. To use the new phase we are workiing over on the forum, It has retina burn factor. I also like the looseness of the brushwork that reads so well from further back. Congratualtions on a wonderful piece of work.

How in theworld did I miss this gorgeous painting!? Beautful.

Me too! I love the impressionistic treatment of the foliage, which implies life and movement. Spectacular, Linda!

Garth

Very nice Linda! I also think this is my favorite piece of yours to date.
Last I remember, you had just taken the plunge to paint full time. Looks like it was a good decision and I hope you have many more commissions waiting to do.

Thanks everyone! My back is killin me lately, but love being so swamped with work. This season has been particularly fun because, as with projects like this one, clients are letting me explore a variety of compositions and techniques. I'm having fun and it's so nice to see this forum notice!

By the way, does the level of work of the artists on this forum is getting better and better? It sure seems to me that we're seeing many of tomorrows top dogs emerging...

:-) Linda