A Family Affair

By Kate Bradley 1 July 2013, 9:51AM  

My studio was crowded yesterday.  I’m working on two portraits of twin boys, John and Henry. Their mom, Katherine, her husband, her sister, her niece, and the boys came to my studio to see the proposals, which are small studies in oil that become the basis for the portrait. Before I begin work on the actual canvas, I want my clients to be happy and excited about where the portrait is going. I want them to be involved in the creative process.

I often ask clients to bring friends and family members to my studio. It’s such a fun moment because it’s when the client can really envision the portrait for the first time. Before that, it’s just talk.

This particular commission was really fun for me. I love doing individual portraits because I can really develop the personality of the child and use the background to reflect that. It's part of the value I offer to collectors: painting children engaged in their passions. John likes sports and outdoor activities; Henry likes to read and draw.

For John’s, I was really drawn to the beautiful light filtering through the trees and the relaxed pose. This one is going to be so fun to paint.

I am equally excited about Henry’s. He is holding one of his favorite books, which he told me all about during our time together. I used cools blues, purples and grays as my primary color palette with the contrasting pops of orange and red. I incorporated one of their existing art pieces to frame Henry’s head and make the composition more interesting.

Katherine told me that art means a lot to her family. In her words, she would rather keep driving her car for a few more years so she could buy meaningful art. It made me feel honored and privileged to help them add meaning and joy to their lives by painting their children.

And it's always great to have a little play time. Here are the kids comparing their "actual size" to their "portrait size!"

The Ideal Age

By Kate Bradley 11 June 2013, 8:47AM

A lot of clients ask me what the ideal age is to have their children's portraits done. It varies with each child, but generally I recommend commissioning a charcoal portrait at 2 and an oil portrait between 4 and 6. That way you can capture their baby cuteness before they get to be grown children. And oils are great at 4, 5 and 6 because the child's features are more developed but they haven't outgrown childhood.

Yesterday I was speaking with a mom who wanted a portrait of her older daughter. I told her a great thing to do would be to have all her children's portraits done at the same time. That way she can mark a specific period in time and celebrate the relationships with all of her kids at once. I suggested she get the oil of her daughter and a charcoal of her son. And if she wanted an oil of her son later, she could get that too.

I developed a Legacy Collection to help parents celebrate each stage of their child's life. Because children change so much from year to year, a yearly portrait would help moms capture their changing faces and bodies and remember each precious age.

Are your children growing up quickly. Capture those fleeting moments by commissioning a portrait. Book your consultation with me today.

Pain of Regret

By Kate Bradley 11 June 2013, 8:47AM I met with a new client yesterday to finalize the details of a portrait she is commissioning of her daughter. I was surprised to hear from her because she originally told me she wouldn’t be able to do the portrait. We talked about doing a large oil and that was something she couldn’t afford right now. I totally understand and respect that. But then she called me last week and said she had changed her mind. She said she was with a friend who had two pastels done of her daughters when they were young and she was talking about how glad she was that she did them. Her daughters are older now and she was relieved and glad not to have those feelings of regret.

My client said she literally woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. She was afraid that if she didn't do this she would regret it. Her daughters are growing up quickly and if she didn't do it now she never could. Because I have many different price points at a wide range, she was able to find  something that fit her budget.

I work with a lot of moms who tell me they see their children’s features change almost every day. I remember a portrait of a little boy with bright blond curly hair I did a couple of years ago. I saw him again recently and his hair is straight and dark. Or a little girl whose eyes were blue when I painted her and now they are brown.

It’s fascinating to me as an artist that my subjects change. I am so happy that I can help alleviate some of the pain and regret that these moms feels as their children grow up.

Celebrating Aristocracy vs. Celebrating Family Relationships

For the past year I have been working with a business coach. One of the things she has encouraged me to do is to look at the careers of successful artists to understand what made them successful. Where they just really good artists or was there something more?

I started thinking about John Singer Sargent, the most successful portrait painter of all time and one of my favorite artists. He earned about $130,000 per commission in today’s dollars. Amazing.

How was he so successful? I used to assume it was because of his talent. Yet there are many talented artists today working in obscurity. He was a wonderful painter to be sure, but as I have discovered talent alone is not enough to be successful. He had to have done something more

His "more" was the unique value to he offered to his target market, the English nobility of his day. He helped them elevate their status in society. That was very important to these people. He celebrated their wealth and status and portrayed them in his portraits as rich, noble, and beautiful. He idealized them. That was why he was so successful.  He was also extremely well connected in his target market. He knew people. It was a status symbol to even get a meeting with him. It meant you were somebody. And if he agreed to paint you, well, that really meant you were somebody. He wouldn’t just paint everyone. You had to be the right kind of person with the right connections.

Sargent and I are both portrait painters but with very different missions. He elevated aristocracy; I help people honor and celebrate their family relationships. He catered to nobility; I cater to moms. Their children are very important to them and they invest a lot of time, energy and money into their well-being.

Like Sargent, my portraits are not available to everyone. I can only do a limited amount per year, so I have to be selective about who I take on as a client. We both cater to a luxury market, but I focus on helping them celebrate their family relationships. It’s all about finding your “tribe” and celebrating their values. Helping them, serving them and making their lives better.