How I Choose My House Portrait Subjects: 12 traits that make a home art inspiring!
As an artist, I am lucky to receive new commission requests for house portraits every week. However, I also choose my own subjects. Sometimes I make my choices based on a series I'm creating about a specific architectural style (ie. Tudor Homes or Victorians) or an individual city or town (ie. San Francisco, CA or Clayton, MO). The owners of these selected homes often ask how I came to choose their house. I thought about what inspires me to select an architectural subject for one of my paintings. I've come up with twelve "art inspiring" traits depicted in many of my favorite portraits. How many art inspiring traits does your home have? The home is obviously loved. It’s well maintained and often has unique and intriguing features attached to the…
Hanging your house portrait in your home
Look at these creative places to hang an original house portrait! My clients often ask for suggestions as to the best place to hang the portrait of their home. The answer is practically any place in your home where the painting can be seen and enjoyed. Most portraits I create are smaller in size, as this is the most popular. Many of my clients have lived in their homes for many years and lack wall space, however I contest that there is always room for another original work of art if you are creative about where to hang your painting. Here are some great examples that show spaces in your home you can utilize for our orignal house portrait. Iin my opinion, t's better to group your art than have…
San Francisco Custom House Portrait Collection
Presenting my Hand-painted Homes of San Francisco San Francisco, the City of Love, has a brand of unique and romantic architecture that sets it apart from any other city across the USA. Its architectural history is as diverse and dynamic as its landscape, marked by a series of booms and transformations that have shaped its unique skyline and streetscapes. The city's architectural uniqueness can be attributed to a variety of factors, including its geographical location, historical events, and cultural influences such as the Gold Rush, the Victorian Era, and the Beaux Arts Movement. This has resulted in unique home styles throughout the city that are characteristic of its charm. Over the years I have worked on my San Francisco collection and for the first time I am presenting it here…
Hand Painted Home Portraits of Los Angeles City
Watercolor Custom House Portraits depicting 20 Los Angeles neighborhoods I spent many years in Los Angeles, America's fourth largest city, living in a variety of neighborhoods and always enjoying the eclectic architecture and diverse nature of the city. And I found there was certainly no shortage of amazing house portrait subjects in Los Angeles city -- in every architectural style imaginable. The increasing congestion of the metropolis finally became unlivable for us and we left the City of Angels, however I took with me a treasure trove of happy memories. Going back decades, Los Angeles has always been a patchwork of neighborhood enclaves separated by highways, thoroughfares and plenty of hills. There are so many fascinating neighborhoods in L.A. proper that I am concentrating on a favorite that represents many…
City of St. Louis House Portraits and Surrounding Cities
First Phase of House Portrait Series of Greater St. Louis Completed! [caption id="attachment_37213" align="aligncenter" width="2225"] Class St. Louis historic building: original painting of Spine Cafe and Book Store in the Benton Park neighborhood, St. Loui[/caption] Watercolor paintings covering 21 distinct areas Situated on the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, St. Louis became the “Gateway to the West” in the 19th century for the adventurers and settlers following the path of Lewis and Clark into the new frontier. Early architecture in St. Louis had strong French influences along with Victorian, Italianate, Federal and Colonial styles. Tudor homes became popular in St. Louis in the early 1900s. This architectural mix is reflected in neighborhoods like Benton Park, Lafayette Square and Carondelet. I can truly say that the the residents in this…
Custom Watercolor House Portraits of Historic Illinois
Illinois architecture captured in my hand-painted house portraits The “Prairie State” of Illinois runs from urban in the north to rural in the south, and this diversity extends to Illinois’ architecture. The most obvious examples of Illinois' architectural variety can be found in the state's largest city -- Chicago. After the Chicago Fire of 1871, the city went on to influence the nation with its architectural innovation and originality. The heritage of Illinois found in their historic homes and buildings Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, achieved statehood in 1818. Its largest and most populous city, Chicago, became a booming metropolis due to its prime location on Lake Michigan and connection to eastern ports via the Erie Canal. In the second half of the 19th century, the need for workers in…
House portraits of childhood homes and keeping special memories alive . . .
Turning a battered old photo into a work of art No matter how insurmountable the task is, I hate to turn away a person who needs my help in capturing their family home . . . and all those treasured memories. Their goal is to memorialize the house the way it looked when they, their siblings, or parents, as the case may be, grew up there. As a house portrait will be in the family for generations to come, it's important to me to honor the true spirit of that special home. The circumstances are always different, but in many cases the home has now been sold to new owners and no longer looks anything like it did in the past. Or worse still, the family home, with all those…
The love of front porches and watercolor porch paintings
Watercolor portrait of a welcoming porch. . . One of the things I love most when I create watercolor paintings of homes, is to include welcoming front porches. I always take the time to add the unique details of each porch: the furniture, the bird feeder, wind chimes and more. From time to time, I am also asked to create commissioned watercolor porch paintings. If you investigate the past, front porches were the most welcoming feature of homes for more than 150 years – whether grand wrap-around verandas, second-floor balconies or simple covered sitting and resting spaces. They were also the treasured gathering place for families and friends. Way back in the early 1800’s, Andrew Jackson Downing – who was thought to be one of the founders of American landscape…
Summer Gardens and House Portrait Give-Away!
While summer color fades. . . a summer house portrait lasts a lifetime We enjoy life's garden. Life is the flower for which love is the honey. -- Victor Hugo I hope you are enjoying the magic of this time of warmth, color and growth. Being that I have now painted portraits of homes and historic buidings in every state across the USA, I can say that a pretty garden, lush trees and and lovely landscapng, makes all the difference when creating a portait of a…
