Posthumous Portraits

[Rob Sullivan]

Mary, that's a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to your friend and her family.

Just a few days ago, I unveiled a potsumous portrait. The piece and my thoughts on the inherent sensitivity of the process can be viewed here:

http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=4274

I had a few photos as reference, but the best one was an official high school photo - which was the technical equivalent of a "Sears portrait". And even though this wasn't so great, and all the rest of the shots were point-and-shoot frontal flash, the consistency of her features and expressions seved as an excellent gulideline.

Though it is obviously a terribly sensitive issue, in the interest of your success with the quality of the portrait, I'm certain the family will gladly loan you the materials you need once you explain to them the necessity of such reference.

Best,

Rob

[Garth Herrick]

Mary,

I had a simlar commission 15 years ago:

A six year old boy, with a modeling career, was struck and killed by a bus on the way to school. His aunt commissioned me to paint his portrait for Mother's Day which was just a week away! She gave me his favorite Izod shirt and favorite Transformer plastic monster toy, which she had stealth-fully "borrowed" from his room. She also gave me a series of studio photographs from modeling sessions.

With four days left I had no time to waste. I filled the shirt up with soft tissue for a prop and laid the toy against it at the nipple level. I determined the best reference photographs were when he was age four, with blond hair covering his ears and a tiny tail. Besides I felt representing him at age four would remove by two years any associations with the tragedy at age six. I had no stand-in for the arms and hands, so I just made them up.

I finished the painting in four days, a record for me, and delivered it perfectly wet, along with the supporting materials. I wasn't sure a Mother's day surprise was the best plan of intentions. For months there was just dead silence. Finally about a year later the boy's mother gathered the courage to call me and tearfully acknowledged she was deeply touched by the portrait. It was worth the wait.

I have no advice to add beyond the good advice posted above.

Best of luck,

Garth

[Mary Sparrow]

How do you feel about this picture as a reference. I personally like it better than some of the posed pictures.

[Mary Sparrow]

Wow, that picture sure does look dark and compressed. The original version is much lighter and shows more detail in her face.

[Garth Herrick]

Mary,

This is powerful. I would try to do a portrait with this image. This image is engaging and draws the viewer in to interact with the girl in a very living way. If that is her sister sitting beside her and supporting her, then this image is even all the more powerful. This is a little girl who was full of the love of life and still is in this composition. While the composition is unconventional, it is extremely effective; it has good emotional content, it really sucks the viewer in like a magnet, and there is a built in harmony of cool colors and values to frame the warmth in her face.

This so much reminds me of the posthumous portrait I did of the little boy in 1989, It has the same immediacy and playful engagement (Mary, I wish I knew where that digital file was so I could share it with you). The boy's head was similarly turned (but his torso was facing forward and the composition was vertical instead of horizontal). I invented some playful interaction between the boy's transformer toy and the Izod alligator stitched on his shirt. as if they were about to battle each other in the boy's imagination. It was a fun painting.

Mary, I think you have a powerful image for reference that could make an even more powerful portrait. Go for it!

Garth

[Mary Sparrow]

Hi Garth,

I have not recieved any pictures directly from the family yet, I just saw a memorial page to her and this picture smacked me in the face.

I hadn't even considered doing the whole image, I was just thinking of a head and shoulders. Based on your work that I have seen, it doesn't surprise me that you see this the way you do. The person beside her isn't her sister, but her mother.

So, you would do the whole thing, even the pool?

[Garth Herrick]

The horizontal format is interesting, and the pool adds a context, but there is no need to be very specific about it. Maybe everything behind the girl could be a little less focused than she is. I just liked the way there's a ready-made context for her pose. I like the way her mother frames her, it is very supportive. The bright pool in the distance explains the intimate enveloping shadow that the girl peers out from.

An historic painter who might have handled this challenging lighting masterfully was Joaquin Sorolla, a Spanish contemporary of Sargent and Zorn. Wow, could he paint people in and out of the bright sun on the beach! He's worth a look for inspiration.

Garth

[Marvin Mattelson]

I think your intentions are very noble and I respect you for that, but personally, I wouldn't consider doing a painting from this photo.