Here’s something colorful and fun — a painting I did awhile back, based on a photo I took at a meaningful and festive bat mitzvah last year. Remembering that happy occasion and the many dancing feet celebrating that evening puts a big smile on my face.
Our feet are happy now! Oil on canvas.
A perfect antidote to the winter blahs that crept in along with the rain, sleet and snow we’ve had yesterday and today, right?
Before Ingrid & Jeremiah’s wedding recedes into fond memories, I wanted to paint a tangible memento, based on a photo taken by my niece Tess (Jeremiah’s sister). Actually, a number of photos of the beautiful flower girls captured my artist’s fancy. Here’s the first one I tackled. Maybe there will be more.
Wedding Flowers. Oil on Paper.
Living too far from Biloxi for regular painting from life and lacking a good photo for a portrait, I had to develop a suitable composition from bits and pieces.
As a starting point, I selected this photo of Dad in a characteristic setting — at the kitchen table, managing his projects via telephone. He’s a master at persuasive phone calls – and is even better at advocating in person.
A Favorite Photo of Dad. Basis of Portrait Composition. 2011.
Problem: while this made for a strong, natural-looking composition, we needed to nix the green shirt & broad smile for a bit more formality — and adjust the foreshortened hand and table, caused by being too close when taking the photo. After sifting through piles of images, I selected these as as further inspiration:
I liked the idea of a navy or black suit, combined with the classy informality of an open collared white shirt. (One of Dad’s favorite looks.) These photos also include serious, yet pleasant, facial expressions, as well as body positions similar to the St. Patrick’s Day image.