"Ben and Leslie" (oil on stretched linen; 20" x 16") sold

sold

The handsome groom Ben commissioned me to paint a wedding portrait for his wife Leslie as the first anniversary gift. He was also gallant, insisting that he didn't care about how he looked and that Leslie should look beautiful. I did care about how he looked too. I did my darned best despite the less than desirable reference photo. He was a pleasure to work with. I hope Leslie loves his thoughtful gift and wish them a long, happy marriage!

Reference photo

"40 Years of Blessed Life Together" (oil on stretched linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

The double portrait was commissioned by Kate and her siblings for her parents' 40th anniversary.  The reference photo was quite faded; I kept the old look, while restoring the colors to the skin tones.  I would like to thank Kate for giving me the opportunity to paint the happiest wedding picture ever!

Kate told me the romantic story of how her parents met.  In December of 1974, they were both living in San Diego; her father was a Navy doctor and her mother, a Navy nurse, but they never crossed paths at the hospital until her mother was admitted after falling 20 feet when the sandstone cliff she was hiking on crumbled.  He was her doctor, and despite the fact that she was pretty banged up and had her jaw wired shut, he was smitten!  The day after she was released and he was no longer treating her, he asked her out.  A year and a half later, they were married.

The reference photo and finished portrait side by side!

The Collage of My March 2016 Paintings

The Collage of My March 2016 Paintings

Another busy month has gone by.  Last month I worked on a lot of portraits and cityscape paintings.  How do you like the collage of my March paintings? Which is your favorite?

"Peter and Melissa" (oil on stretched canvas; 20" x 16") gift

gift

We have a family tradition: whenever someone gets married, he gets a double wedding portrait from the family artist, myself.  I thought when one of my husband's nephews got married last summer, I would give him a nice toaster and call it quits.  No such thing!  The expectation was so high that I couldn't dare without devastating the groom.  I included some step-by-step pictures that are not high-quality, but still give you an idea of how I approached this important project. 

Step 1: The drawing already looks like the love birds!

Step 2: Peter is my husband's nephew and namesake. My husband is known as Peter the Great in the family.

Step 3: It looks like a spring wedding, doesn't it? The lovely outdoor wedding was actually an August one. We dodged a bad weather, which came in the evening when we were partying inside. A lucky couple!

Step 4: The bride in her dress without a veil looked like a radiant Greek goddess!

Step 5: This bearded young man is one of the twins, whom I have known since he was eight. He is my favorite nephew--kind, thoughtful, smart, and quietly funny. He reminds me of his uncle, my husband.