Marriage of ceremonies

Allan Rahbek · 05-02-2005, 12:22 PM

Cynthia,

Since this is a surprise present to the husband I would suggest to make a fine portrait of his beautiful bride in the Indian dress. With a little more space around her, especially on top and bottom and without the hands. Just a simple portrait of the head and dress.

Allan

Cynthia Feustel · 05-02-2005, 05:04 PM

Marcus and Allan, thanks so much for your replies.

I agree with you Allan . I think the close up would make an interesting painting. After seeing that photo it was hard to want to paint from the other reference which is rather drab in comparison. I thought I could perhaps liven it up a bit by adding something ethnic in the background. We looked around her house for some item or fabric to use in the painting but she didn't really have anything there. That is when I started my search on the internet. That only confused me more because I didn't know if it made a difference what part of India her husband was from and I couldn't even pronounce some of the words. Marcus, thanks for the info on Punjabi .

I did a search on the SOG site for bridal and found a painting by Kathy Coates that illustrates my idea for some type of Indian fabric/wall hanging or design in the background. Also there are some symbols that I found via the internet which might work.

I think I will do some sketches and present them to the client so she can see what I am thinking. When we initially talked she seemed interested in hearing about other options and liked the idea of more color or using the Indian ceremony in some way. She actually said that they enjoyed that wedding more than the other one. Maybe I can sell her on the single portrait idea.

I need to get this settled soon. I just found out that I may have a tear in my rotator cuff on my right shoulder (yes, I'm right handed

). I just started physical therapy and am waiting to hear if I need surgery. They are telling me that the recovery is almost 3 months!!
I have a lot of commissions that I am already committed to do. I just stopped most of my art classes that I teach so that I could really go full speed ahead with portraits and now this. Also my daughter is graduating high school this month and then I'll have two in college, OUCH. I need income. I need my shoulder. Opps! Sorry , I got off the subject a bit.

I will try to get a drawing or something in photoshop to post. As far as the quality of the photos does anyone have any comments?

Thanks again,

Cynthia

Chris Saper · 05-02-2005, 08:42 PM

Cynthia,

So sorry to hear about your shoulder!

Regarding your portrait commission, I think your client has some unrealistic expectations. As a surprise gift, I think it is a better idea to just paint a single subject - her.

Do you know why she wants a wedding picture from the 80's to serve as a source? Does she still have her Indian wedding dress? Why not ask her to pose for you to take the photos, her in her gown? It could be sort of like a "renewal of vows" concept - the present day woman, the nostalgia of the wedding dress. Certainly the close up show a beautiful woman with a great expression - but it's taken with a flash.

Michele Rushworth · 05-02-2005, 10:17 PM

I agree wholeheartedly with Chris' s suggestion that you take new photos of the bride alone. (Review the threads on how to take great portrait reference photos.) Then work with her to pick just one of them to paint from. It's virtually impossible to make a good portrait by cobbling together widely divergent reference photos.

Kimberly Dow · 05-04-2005, 02:01 PM

I'm drooling over that fabric. I'd love to paint that!

Allan Rahbek · 05-04-2005, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimberly Dow

I'm drooling over that fabric. I'd love to paint that!

Me too.

You could settle on wholesale and forget about the shoulder, Cynthia.

Allan

Cynthia Feustel · 05-05-2005, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Do you know why she wants a wedding picture from the 80's to serve as a source? Does she still have her Indian wedding dress? Why not ask her to pose for you to take the photos, her in her gown? It could be sort of like a "renewal of vows" concept - the present day woman, the nostalgia of the wedding dress. Certainly the close up show a beautiful woman with a great expression - but it's taken with a flash.

Chris, thanks for the suggestions.
The wedding ceremonies were back to back, two days in a row. The wedding pictures of the second ceremony show them with huge bags under their eyes. I know how I felt after just one wedding day! The photographer did some retouching and they ended up with orange streaks under their eyes. The picture looked so bad she threw it away. I feel that she just really wants a momento of the actual wedding. On the photo I posted I removed the bags(under eyes) in Photoshop.

When artists paint posthumous portraits they often have to work with poor quality photos. This may just be the case here. I teach both of her daughters art and her husband (who is a doctor) may be joining the adult class as his schedule permits. They have some poor quality photo enlargements (18" x 24") taken from snapshots of their two beautiful daughters framed and hanging in their home . I am hoping that if I give her what she wants she may also decide on portraits of the girls (which I could photograph). I also hope to sell her on the idea of the close up in the Indian dress too. Boy, am I ever dreaming but maybe wishful thinking will pay off!

Thanks Michele too! I need all of your encouragement. It is no joke when I say that I work from the worlds worse references. I have been painting portraits (watercolor) for 6-7 years and until November. when I found this forum I never realized that I didn't have to be accepting these poor quality photos. I can't tell you how frustrated I have been at times. One of these days I'll post the nightmare that I am working on now in watercolor. You will either laugh and say "that lady is crazy" or you'll have such pity on me you'll cry and say "that poor lady IS crazy!". I'll just keep you in suspense for now. I have a few of these commissions that I have already agreed to do but I will be more selective with my references from now on.

I have only been posting for a short time but I can't tell you what a life saver this forum is for me. I soooooo want to move on to the next level with my art. Your support is more than appreciated!

Cynthia