It’s an oil on canvas painting. The commissioner provided me a few pictures of the painting characters and had some requests about how he would like the portraits be done.
This commission of a realist oil painting is a perfect example of my usually commissions I get for portraits.
All the commissioned portraits I’ve got are from “oversees” customers, so that it was impossible to paint those portraits from life but from photographs.
I think you already understood there is a problem here and you wonder why is that so… In the end, painting after a photo is apparently easier than depicting a portrait directly from life.
Of course, there is a problem! Simply, most of my commissioners want me to paint a painting composition using some photos as reference for something looking different:
- a different place of the portrait subject
- a different expression of the face
- placing together people from different pictures
- a different age …and the list can continue
Yet, the lesser good thing is that 99 % of the reference pictures are amateurish photographs took in a bad light and the worst, using flash light.
Now sincerely, I don’t blame anyone for that! Who is to know that sometime in the future will commission a portrait after the pictures that they just took at a party or in a trip?! We want to capture the joy of the happy moment that we are part of , not to capture as best as I can the facial features :~) on those moments, won’t we?
This is the main reference photo for this portrait commission and then, the commissioned portrait painting.
Why I am telling these above in a blog post presenting this commissioned realist portrait? Well, because most of the above issues are present to this commission:
- subjects are on their youth (so no chance to ask for some custom pictures)
- commissioner wanted a different expression on the left subject
- commissioner want me to paint slimmer the right painting subject
- subjects are placed closer and keeping otherwise those glasses of champagne
- had to draw different champagne glasses
- a completely new background
It’s a big canvas. Size is 24×30 inches, oil on canvas.
Here is a YouTube video of the painting process.