A pretty woman, a fuzzy picture. I was given a commission for a portrait to create from an old photograph, taken when "Mary" was much younger. Her husband, Ray wanted it as a surprise for a future event. I did the best I could, not having even met Mary, and using a very small, old, fuzzy faded photograph. It got rave reviews and the customer was very happy and proud. Mary is still very beautiful, as is her younger version shown below.
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| "Portrait of Mary" Oil, by Judy Burgarella |
Aside from the difficulties of an image without a lot of information contained within it, the strange lighting and shadows also posed some problems. What colors to use? How much contrast? What were the actual values? And some forms and details happen to be missing within the photograph.
The customer asked me to frame it with a gilded frame, which I happened to have on hand, and I believe it was the best choice for this portrait.
What a joy it is to paint a portrait and get to know a person's face inch-by-inch, and have the challenge especially of bringing it to life again decades later in the future. Yes, a joy and a challenge, but exhausting and I'm relieved it came out ok and it's finished.
Judy Burgarella
Portrait Blogger
