Boy with Pinecones

[Terri Ficenec]

This is the brother of the little girl with the bunny.

Oil on Linen, 20"x16"

[Richard Monro]

Terri,
You have a lovely and dsitintive soft touch to your work. I love it. Beautifully done.

[Garth Herrick]

Terri,

This is a wonderfully warm, and accomplished portrait. Those hands are so sensitive. That they are holding such an exquisite pinecone, conveys to me that you have immortalized an intellegent young naturalist, in the making. The content of your portraits add so much rich biographical dimension to your subjects. The abstract color harmony is quite wonderful too. This is a perfect companion to the painting of his sister. Thanks for sharing this.

Garth

[Julie Deane]

Oh, Terri-

What a wonderful, sensitively done portrait! These childrens' parents must be ecstatic!

[John Reidy]

Terri,

Very nice!

The question begging to be answered is about the pine cones. There must be a story behind them.

I, too, am thankful for your sharing it with us.

[Terri Ficenec]

Thanks Richard! Growing up, I used to draw very detailed drawings, but so softly on the paper that the darkest value was probably a 7 and all the shading was collapsed into that range. Avoiding contrast the way some people avoid conflict. I still have to remind myself to make sure the darks are dark enough!

Hey there Garth-- Thanks so much for all those nice comments! I've been trying to incorporate elements that reflect a bit about the subject just to keep things more interesting. . .

Julie - thanks! The clients haven't seen either portrait completed yet... will be contacting them early this week to arrange a viewing. I've got my fingers crossed.

Thanks John! The pinecones... well, for one thing they were really HUGE. In the background of the little girls portrait, there was a large bowl of them between the 2 candlesticks. And they were used decoratively around on window sills, etc. When I'd asked the Mom for suggestions of what might be meaningful to include with each of the children, these were suggested for the boy. He was too interested in my camera and computer set-up to want to talk about the pine cones, though... so I never got the story! They were kind-of-fun to paint. Here's the other one:

[Allan Rahbek]

Terry,
congratulations with those two portraits of sister and brother. I think that they are very well balanced and both executed in a delicate manner.

I am impressed of your handling of details such as the bunny and the pine cones. They really add to the story of these children and sort of double the interest of the personality of them.

The cones adds a sort of transparency to the boy

[Mary Sparrow]

Terri, you have a very distinct and recognizable style. Your paintings are always so soothing and tranquil to me. I know the parents will love it and treasure the pair.

[Michele Rushworth]

Magnificent!

[David Draime]

You've done it again! Gorgeous work, masterfully executed, wonderfully understated expression, color harmony - just right...all with the classic Ficenec touch. Beautiful.