While I’m parading pet portraits, here’s one more I did as a Christmas commission. In this pastel, I put two friends together from separate photos, two beloved pets who passed away recently. I was touched to hear on Christmas day that the gift was treasured, thoughtfully given and happily received!
Archives For commission
This Christmas, I was honored to draw a very old cottage located in Americus, Georgia.It was an old civil war doctor’s office that was moved and restored into a one bedroom cottage.
It’s so fun to be a part of meaningful and lasting gifts!
You look out into the night. You see two shining eyes and a big tongue. It’s Bear. Not A bear, but Bear, my grandfather’s very large, very sweet, very black, very loved Belgian Sheepdog.
I had the privilege to draw this pampered dog for my Paw Paw’s Christmas present, given by his family. Here’s how it turned out:
Shepherd, Soft Pastel… On my twelfth birthday, my grandfather gave me a collection of my first “real” art supplies. Never doing anything halfway, he went to a local art store to have a professional choose the best materials: a selection of nice brushes, a set of watercolors in tubes and in a pan, acrylic paint, oil paint, canvases, papers, a set of drawing pencils, erasers, and a large box of pastels. With that gift, I moved from the childhood world of drawing cartoon characters with a #2 pencil to exploring the world of fine art. Years later, after I had painted and sketched the days away, I finally picked up the untouched box of pastels. But what to draw? It was my sophomore year of college, and I had recently returned from a Jan-term trip to Jordan and Syria (where, incidentally, I met my husband, a fellow student). There were so many new memories forever burned into my mind, but one stood out, and still does to this day: standing atop a golden ridge, looking out as the amber sun set over the Dead Sea, viewing the Bedouin caves from above, and spotting a flock of goats and sheep with their robed shepherd in the valley below. It was a beautiful moment, rich in color, that became the subject of my first pastel drawing with my first set of pastels. I have drawn it several times since, and it has become a repeated special request from my grandmother. The image has been altered as my hand has gathered new techniques and greater knowledge over the years, but here is a version from today, commissioned as a gift, sitting atop the greatest treasures of my much-expanded collection of art supplies: my Sennelier Soft Pastels.
After a slow few months of art production due to the lovely symptoms of pregnancy, I’m finally back at my desk! With a baby girl kicking at my belly whenever I squash her against my art table, I have recently completed this family farmhouse, bringing together about twenty photos to include many family memories of a very kind lady.
In order to incorporate so many features, I approached the piece with a leaning towards folk art rather than perfect realism and proportion. I used the same set of colors throughout the painting to keep the images together as a whole. My sweet client and I are both happy with the finished piece, and I am looking forward to beginning my next painting!
Family Farmhouse, 18×24 soft pastel on board
Roman Columns, 18×24 Soft Pastel on Board
Here is the fourth installment in the Italian series done by commission for a private collection here in the Birmingham area. My husband and I took a photo of these dramatic columns in the Roman Forum years ago, and I have always thought they would make a beautiful pastel!
View from Fiesole, 24×36 commissioned pastel
This is the newest addition to one of my most gracious client’s collection of pastels. “View from Fiesole” will hang with the “Trevi Fountain” and the “Spanish Steps.” And there is one more pastel of Italy to come, so stay tuned!
The Trevi Fountain, 24×36 Soft Pastel
The Spanish Steps, 30×30 Soft Pastel
The Coast of Maine, 16×20 Commissioned Pastel
I love the challenge of drawing the ocean, and especially the ocean spray as the waves crash upon the dark rocks. This piece is similar to my earlier pastels of the Scottish coast, with the wonderful contrast of darks and lights. I love using the many blues, greens, and whites intermixed with the unexpected hints of burgundy and ochre hidden in the water. The rocky coast in this particular piece was very interesting, with its striated texture glistening in the sun.
In preparation to list on Etsy, I’ve been making some new mini pictures! Here are a few of the 3×3 pastels which consist mostly of “the birds and the bees,” with the occasional snail or other tiny creature thrown in here and there!
These pieces range in price from $35-$45 depending upon the frame. The pastels are drawn on Sennelier La Carte Pastel Paper and sprayed with a fixative for durability. All birds are native to Alabama, and any bird can be drawn on commission at the same price. These make great gifts!