Commissions and Other Winter Projects

With the 2007 art show season behind me, I'm now turning my attention to studio projects that I'll focus upon during the cold winter months. In addition to using these "indoor only" days to create larger pieces, I'm getting caught up on commissions for various clients. I have several portraits and landscape pieces to complete, and the colder weather of winter sharpens my focus to take on these works.

Calvin and Morgan 18" x 12" pastel on paper

The first piece that I've completed over the past several weeks is a portrait of young Calvin, age 4, and his little sister, Morgan, who's not quite a year old yet. This piece was commissioned as a gift to the parents from a family member. When I work on portraits like this, it reminds me of how I like to study the manner in which people's faces change over time. To me, it's interesting to observe how certain features remain the same and how other aspects change as we grow older. In working on this piece, I especially felt that I could easily foresee the way Calvin will look as he grows up.

Along these lines, another hobby of mine is to study the wedding and anniversary announcement photos in the weekend newspaper. I love to compare wedding photos from 30, 40, and even 50 years past to how the couple looks today. By the same token, scientists say that we marry people who look like us. There have been studies done that show how we're attracted to people whose eyes, noses, etc. are similar in size and proportion to our own. I definitely see this phenomenon in the engagement and wedding announcements in the weekend paper. It's remarkable how many young couples seem to share the same eyes and smiles as they begin their new lives together.