Free-for-All Friday Painting of the First Person is Jared

oil          approx 8" x 10"       Jared

Thanks to all who sent me photos. I would have liked to paint all of them. But, Jared was the first. Jared isn't this age but it is him. So... here it is. When you photograph a painting you see mistakes more quickly and the one I couldn't stand and went back and fixed is the un-level ears. I didn't take another photo yet. Again, this free-for-all Friday was fun for me. It is one I will do again too. Jared, hope you like the painting.

Free-for-All Friday Painting of the First Person

Today for Free-for-all Friday I will do a black and white 8" x  8" (approximately) painting of the first person to send me a photo of themself. It has to be of you. Please save me some hair-pulling by sending a decent resolution photo of decent size. It doesn't have to be black and white, a color photo is fine. 

I'll post the photo and the painting sometime Friday. (I make no promises of when.) And mail it to the person in a week or so, when it's dry. I'll only take about 2-3 hours doing it so don't expect world peace from this. Just something new, experimental, unexpected, and out of the ordinary - just like free-for-all Fridays.

Send it to shannon@shannonsportfolio[dot]com

Think about it Thursday - Self Portraits

Self Portraits - artists do them frequently. I have done a few. This one is colored pencil of me when I was a baby, not to be confused with one I did as a baby. (That would be talent!) Many portraits are a traditional head and shoulders view. Many aren't. They add things to represent more of what the person is like. 

So, if you were doing a self-portrait today what would it look like? Would you do only your face or your whole body?  What would you be doing? Where would you be? What would be its mood? Would you add other elements? Things? Special objects? Would you add text? Would you add textural objects? What would you make it out of? These are just a few questions to get your mind going. If you're so inclined make one.

If you had to capture you at this given time what would you do? You would be leaving a piece of your  history. Think about it.

Art Talk Tuesday - Painting Orientation

Basic Art Training Tuesday is just learning a little art talk.

ORIENTATION

Portrait or Landscape

There are 2 ways that rectangular paintings are referred to in their orientation, or position. Portrait or Landscape. 

Portrait is where a painting is taller (vertical) than wider (horizontal). 

Landscape is the opposite. 

Landscape is wider (vertical) than taller (horizontal). 

It is easy to remember - when we look at a person we look up and down and with a landscape side to side. 

It is the measurements (horizontal to vertical) of the rectangle not the content of the painting.

PORTRAIT ORIENTATION  Jessie 20" x  15"

LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION   Alisha with Letter oil  16" x 19"

Painting - Commission

Here is the  finished commission of the daughters of a family here in Missouri. I loved painting these girls. They had their own very different personalities and I worked at getting the expressions that best suited each. I am giving it to the family tonight, in fact, in about hour.

Portrait Society of America - Missouri

I was just informed that I was approved to be 

Portrait Society of America's Ambassador to Missouri. 

If you want to know more about it go to www.portraitsociety.org. 

Basically, I help promote portraiture and figurative work in MO and act as a resource for members and non-members. I already got a nice welcome from Joan, the TN ambassador. 

Here is their website. www.tnportraitsociety.org  

I can be as creative as I like with this. So we'll see what happens.