Oil Portrait of Dale and His Dog Sunny
When Jan Johnson talked with me about commissioning a portrait, her husband, Dale, had recently retired from 3M Corporation as Director for Manufacturing. She thought she might like to have a custom painted portrait done of him to applaud him for his illustrious career. This would be a portrait for their home—it would show him relaxed.
I flew to Minnesota to photograph him with his dog, Sunny. Jan and Dale were easy going and gracious—Sunny wiggly and attentive. I asked to see the room where Jan planned that the portrait would hang, as I would probably factor that into my painting. It was the family room—homey/elegant with wood walls and brown leather furniture. Predominant color—reddish brown. Hmmm…. Greens, blacks and tiny bits of reds and oranges—but no blue. All right. Good….
Next, the photography. Dale dressed casually in a green plaid shirt. Green—excellent. Sunny had gotten a stick in one of his eyes the day before, so that one was half shut. No problem (not for me—and Sunny didn’t look bothered either).Of course the lake would be in the background of the painting, but the sun was not correct for that. (Did I mention that their house was on one of their state’s 10,000 lakes?) Again, not a problem—we just put Dale in the best position for the light (even if the house was in the picture behind him) and I would paint my lake view in later. Dale sat with Sunny while I shot 3 rolls of film. Those were the days that you had to travel to the photo store for development, so you wanted to take plenty of insurance shots to avoid a second trip. For every one of the 72 shots, as soon as it was done, Dale said something to Sunny and Sunny bolted out of there, ran in a huge oval about the size of the perimeter of a football field, then came back in a flash and sat down in exactly the same spot in perfect position ready for the next pose. LOL.
Also, while I was there, Jan asked me to take reference photos of her eldest grandchild, a pretty little 7-year old girl. Jan hatched the idea that I could paint each of her grandchildren as they reached the age of 7. These were to be head-and-shoulder poses for watercolors. I put the little girl on the sofa and let the brightness of the window do its magic for my light writing (that’s what photo graphy means, if you didn’t know). We faced each other (I with the camera, she with the pretty face) about a yard apart on the same sofa. The side of her head and shoulder met the incoming light in from the outdoors, and the other side was relatively dark. There’s nothing like a good shadow on part of the face for painting it—it’s the shadows that make objects look 3-dimensional.
Before I left Minnesota, I met all the family that lived nearby and I left with a warm and friendly feeling to communicate in my portrait of their family’s head.
Back at the ranch and into the painting, there were 2 matters that I knew that I was going to handle. One was the plaid shirt. So much detail and it can steal the focus of the painting if you’re not really careful. The second was the “no blue” in the family room where it was to hang. I like that kind of problem. I like integrating my portraits with life when I can. It’s all part of that catchy but true-in-my-opinion saying, “Living is an Art”.
Oh, and how can I forget, the poor doggie’s half-closed eye. But as you can judge for yourself, I addressed them both—in my own way.
A custom painted portrait belongs to its own genre for sure. The portrait artist often gets to hear from his/her subjects and their families. I paint to communicate and it’s the greatest reward to get their response. Here’s what Dale and Jan shared with me:
You capture a “feeling” in me that is more than the expression on my face; the painting conveys an “inner peace” that I certainly feel. Sunny, as you know, is my constant companion and, again, you captured the spirited and happy dog that he is. Your portrait was the target of many observations and constant discussion at my retirement party, greatly appreciated and admired by all. As you can tell, I am greatly pleased with my painting and want to thank you for all your effort and talent that made it possible.
We now have my husband Dale’s portrait hanging in our family room. Recently we had Dale’s retirement party where many friends viewed your work. I wish you could have been there to hear the comments. People were particularly impressed that you had truly captured Dale’s personality on canvas. And Sunny’s spirited personality really jumps out as you view the painting. The detail in your work from the gleam in Dale’s eyes to the plaid in his shirt will ever serve as a wonderful, lasting reminder of this important time in his life.
Stay tuned for the next installment. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you.
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