Portrait Artist Forum - A Family of Builders

Thanks Tom and Alex.

I did have fun with this composition - it was one of those sessions when things just flowed. The sitting took place at the retirement village where the oldest gentleman (Bob) is a resident. At first, I did not think that I would be able to have my own sitting as Bob is very frail and wheelchair bound. Originally I was going to have to work off individual photographs - which I was very reluctant to do as the quality of the source material was really poor. Anyway Bob had an upturn in health and I arranged to meet with all three of them (Zach, Wayne, and Bob in order of age). I like to work in situational contexts. These men come from three generations of a family of builders who built all of the retirement home. I really did not want too many reference items in the portrait as I wanted the three figures to "speak" for themselves. I chose a chair as I did not want all the figures to be at the same height, so having Bob sitting would not only introduce some variation in height but also mean that the sitting would be relatively comfortable for him.

I was not expecting Bob to be as frail as he was. I realized when we met that I would not have much time to take the digital reference photographs so a two or three hour sitting was out of the question. I think that for group portraits it is obviously very important to observe how the individuals interact with each other, especially if you do not know them. I noted that it was Wayne who arrived pushing Bob and helped Bob out of the wheelchair and into the armchair. So I posed Wayne behind his father in a very protective pose - it is a sort of visual reference to Wayne having Bob's back covered. I did not want Zach to be the same height as his father so I had him leaning against the chair. There is a certain irony in the pose as you are not quite sure whether he is looking to his father and grandfather for support, or whether he is pushing against them. If he is anything like my own two sons it is probably a bit of both.

I like the the way they all decided to wear blue shirts - it provides a very strong connection between them all. I had no say in what they chose to wear. When I saw the plaid suit my first thought was that it would pose a problem. However, I really think that it anchors the composition. In one of the poses I had Zach looking off to his right - again a reference to him steering their business in another direction - but I subsequently thought that this was a bit over the top and contrary to my perceptions of them as being very cohesive as a family and in terms of where they see their building business as going.

As you have probably noticed, I like strong shadows in my pictures. This is largely due to the lighting that I use. I do not like to use studio lights - instead I use a bright halogen lamp that I bought from Walmart. One of the effects that this light has is that one of the subjects is usually more brightly lit than others - in this case Bob. I like this effect in this instance as it seems that Bob almost glows from within. There is a warmth in his face that often is seen in those people who have lived a good life and who are not afraid of dying. The lighting also serves a second function in that I saw both Wayne and Zach as still living in the shadow of their father and grandfather. Bob was the founder of the business and they have continued his craft.

Finally, the chair supplements all of the above points - in that it seems to serve as Bob's throne and reflects his warmth. Now do I think of all this as I am setting up the portrait? Probably not - it seems to be largely intuitive, and sometimes the intuitions work and sometimes they don't.

I must apologize for my long-winded response to your question Alex - it is largely the result of being a portrait painter who unfortunately is also an academic psychologist.

Keep well and once again thank you for your comments.