Custom Orders for Christmas

Personalized gift ideas

One thing I love about the holiday season are the unique requests I receive from those who want to give a meaningful keepsake gift.  Below are two recently created custom orders.

House portrait painting on 5x7 inch canvas

A simple rendition of a house sketched and painted with acrylic paints on a small canvas for a new home owner who loves purple and plans on painting the shutters and doors in her color of choice.   This was a custom request from a buyer who wanted a house portrait, rendered in my whimsical style, on a tiny/small canvas as a gift for a good friend. 

This ornament was created for my customer's friend who had published her first book this past year.  The ornament features the cover of her book, "Who's faster?" with the authors name and 2012 written on the back.  A fun keepsake gift from a very proud friend.

In my Studio

Another set of custom ornaments

PAINTED - FIRED - READY TO SHIP

AND... 

TWO MORE IN PROCESS

 

Hope you enjoyed my little hand painted house tour of homes across America.

For more information, click here

Custom Painted Portrait Ornaments

A new batch of hand painted custom portrait ornaments glazed, fired in my kiln and waiting to be decorated with ribbon.

The work in process and the finished ornaments ready to be shipped to a very proud grandfather.

For a couple commemorating their Disney World engagement and wedding which will also take place in that magical world.

 

For a fan of Joe Paterno and the Littany Lion of Penn. State.  In celebration of a winning season.  

If you are interested in a hand painted portrait ornament handmade from your photo - click here  I would love to create a special keepsake for you and your loved ones.

Busy Holiday Season

After a weekend spent wining and dining with friends it's time to get back to the studio and into painting production mode.  Requests for custom painted portrait ornaments to be given as gifts this holiday season continue to roll in.   With orders that have included portraits from weddings, anniversaries, children, parents, grandparents, and siblings to office co-workers and pets. Each ornament is hand drawn, hand painted, outlined, signed,  glazed and fired in my kiln - creating a unique piece of art. It is a pleasure receiving these different requests and the response has been terrific.

Custom Requests Complete

 For a Beloved Pet

A Sweet Portrait for Grandparents

For a best friend and her husband

For a co-worker and her children

For the Bride and Groom

In Production:

A number of pieces are still in production - drawn, painted and waiting their turn in the kiln.

 

 If this little preview has sparked any interest in a custom painted ornament or if there is a request you would like to make - Please feel free to contact or visit me by clicking here  All pieces can be personalized with names and dates.

Here comes the Bride - Wedding Portraits

 It must be wedding season!
This past weekend my sister-in-law celebrated her upcoming October wedding with a bachlorette wine tasting party in Charlottesville, Va., yesterday Rachel Ray featured plus-size wedding gowns on her show and  wedding gifts were featured on Oh Joy!  I've also had quite a few requests recently for custom painted wedding portraits.  Below is one that I've finished and three others on which I'm still working.

Custom Wedding Portrait Triptych 
A playful piece of sculptural art.

My first request was for a custom painted wood block triptych.

A reproduction of the customers wedding portrait was hand painted on a piece of primed canvas,

 cut into 3 pieces and adhered to 3 sanded and stained wood blocks.  The blocks can be rearranged in numerous ways adding a lighthearted touch to a traditional portrait.  I love this unique way to display a wedding portrait. 

The next request was for a custom painted portrait on canvas

The bride and groom are good friends of ours who will be celebrating their one-year anniversary October 4th.  We were at their ocean-front wedding last year and I am honored to paint their anniversary portrait - a surprise gift from my friend to her husband.

The painting in its early stages - still waiting to be finished.

Next came this sweet request ~
"First of all, I must tell you, I love your work!! It is so unique and your paintings are fabulous. I am writing to you because my best friend got married this past July and I would like to turn one of her photos into a painting."   You know I couldn't say no to this - and the picture of the bride and groom is so elegantly casual I love it.

The original photograph

and my Painting in Process

 And...The most recent request was for a hand painted canvas of a couple with a peacock in the background.  The bride wanted something for the entrance of their wedding and their theme is peacock.

The original photograph

and the early stages of my interpretation of the photograph with a peacock painted in the background.

I guess you can understand why my blog posts have been a little bit sparse recently - just trying to keep up with all these weddings!  :)

Portrait of a beach babe

I recently finished painting this custom portrait

of a little girl sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan that was

cut into thirds, and adhered to 3 natural wood blocks.  The portrait triptych is now ready to be shipped to a happy mom who sent me this message after seeing an image of the finished portrait ~ "It's beautiful! I'm so excited! We are up at our lake house now and I feel like I should pose my son tomorrow on the beach so he's not left out! It's great and I can't wait to receive it! Thanks again.. "

Yea!  I'm always a little nervous when painting a custom portrait so it's wonderful to receive positive feedback from a delighted recipient!  I wonder if all artists feel this way when creating custom pieces, or if it's just me?!  What do you think?

Beach Babes Commission Portrait ~ In Progress

~ A Peak inside My Studio ~ 
The progress of a commissioned painting from a photograph to the finished painting on canvas.

 The original photograph

Step One: Composing the picture with a charcoal sketch on canvas

Step Two: Laying out the painting with complimentary colors.

Step Three: Painting in skin tones and color value.

Step Four: Adding shadows and highlights.

And the finished piece:
Beach Babes Painting on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Two Views:
The original photograph and finished painting side by side.

If you would like to see more of my work, click on my custom orders button.  A custom portrait makes a wonderful gift for mothers day.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Commissioned Painting - Family Portrait - Update...

New Commission Piece for this beautiful family.

The original family portrait -
One of a series taken by professional photographer, Sara K. Blanco.

In addition to these portraits, the proud momma contacted me to
see if I could paint this image on a canvas. She decided on a 20" x 24"
canvas, which will look lovely inside the "big, chunky, ornate kind"
of frame that she loves. I started the painting this weekend ~


For my process, I scanned the original portrait, cut out the figures and
collaged them onto the canvas. I figure out my color palette, then start
to paint the figures and background with the first of many layers of
color and texture.

I'll continue to add color value and detail to the figures and
to the background. New images will be added as progress on
the painting continues - so mom and her family - who don't live
nearby - can "watch" their piece of art come to life.

Painting continues into the evening.


A close-up as I start to add detail to the individual portraits
and landscape


And the finished portrait -
approved by the family and ready to be shipped out tomorrow!

Kara ~ I thank you for the opportunity to paint your beautiful family.