Sunday, January 19, 2014

Sunday Snapshot: The Artist's Process

While we were at our friends Jim and Dan's house last summer for a big birthday party, one of the activities was a bit of music in their music room.  Jim is a fantastic musician, plays the harp beautifully ... and his friends in the Renaissance music group joined in that afternoon.  At one point, there were six harps, a violin, and a flute, along with beautiful voices.  It reminded me of what we read about families and friends playing music and singing in the evenings before TV took over the scene.

I snapped this photo of Jim while he was playing.  I liked the way the light from the windows created highlights and shadows on his face and his arms, and my position on the other side of the room from him was perfect for a great composition.



I showed it to The Husband, and asked him if he thought it would make a good portrait.  He smiled ... which meant that I had hit on a great idea.

The photo needed a bit of cropping to clean up and focus the composition.  I thought it made best sense as a square.



The Husband took over at this point, fiddling with the light and shadows in Photoshop, and this is what he came up with.



He has been working on the portrait for a couple of months, on evenings, weekends, and during breaks from work, and he finished it yesterday afternoon.  The result is absolutely amazing!



Trust me, the actual painting looks SO much better in person than it does in this awful photo.  It perfectly captures the mood of the moment.

While we were at Jim and Dan's last weekend, The Husband took Dan aside and showed him a photo of the portrait (Dan is also a very talented artist).  Dan's reaction was instantly favorable, as was Jim's when he saw it.  They offered to buy it right then, and have continued to be quite insistent about it during the time since, but I have had to disappoint them.  This portrait is mine.  I loved it from its inception as a dark photo, and I love it more now.  I plan to add it to my collection that we display in our dining room, and it will forever be a memento of a valued friendship.

(If you are interested in seeing more of my dear husband's paintings, click HERE to visit the gallery on his web site.)  

14 comments:

  1. It is lovely and I can see why you won't part with it!

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  2. Connie, THAT IS AWESOME!!! He captured it beautifully and I can see why you don't want to part with it. I wouldn't be able to let it go!

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  3. Your husband is so talented. I can't even imagine being able to paint like that. What a gift.
    Cindy

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  4. This is so wonderful. Treasured, personal artwork adds so much to a home. What a fascinating couple you and your husband make.

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  5. PS...I couldn't get the link to work, but I certinly would like to visit your artist husbsnd'd site.

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  6. Your husband is truly a gifted and talented artist, I would have kept the portrait too. Thanks for the link, I'm off to admire more of your husbands talent!

    Hope you're doing well!!

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  7. Hi Connie, Your husband is so talented! What a lovely reminder of a special friend. I wish I could paint like that!

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  8. The link was fine from here, Connie. “The Husbands” work captures life as we know it ~ excellent, as you already know, representation of all we hold dear. The current masterpiece will be an wonderful addition to your personal gallery.

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  9. How beautiful! Maybe you can have a print made of it for your friend? It's just wonderful and your hubby is absolutely talented!

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  10. It is truly stunning, and I was so very impressed when I saw it. Came home and told my husband about it, so glad it's on the blog so I can show it to him.

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  11. Hi Connie, I was reading your post and then when I got to your husband's painting, I exclaimed WOW so loudly that my husband asked me from across the living room what I was reading. I showed him the portrait and he nodded, smiled and said "Yes! That is WOW!" I am going to check out the rest of your hubby's painting. (I am one of those people who wished they could paint. I think it's such a gift to be able to create something beautiful.) Please tell your husband I am a fan! Christa

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