The Lambertville Lachlan
 

Oil on linen, 24" x 20", 2001/2004

Unexpectedly, yesterday this informal portrait of my daughter, representing her at age three, was sold.

The pose was spontaneous, but my camera had been at hand. Later there was some brief cooperation for some live final adjustments as she simultaneously crayoned her own images.

The patrons remembered viewing this at a gallery several years back and decided they had to have it. Now there is a void upon my walls. I guess it's time for another portrait.

Garth

So rarely do we get to experience true ambivalence!

It is indeed spontaneous, and, I feel, loaded with stories to tell. I can see why they have been unable to forget this portrait for years. I love the loose painterly treatment in her hair.

So go paint another one!

Garth, she's so sweet -- You must miss this little painting!

What a beautiful little painting!! I love your restraint with the color in this one. And it has a Bouguereau kind of surface shimmer to it. Love it! Chris is right: paint another one.

Precious and priceless
 

As I know how few paintings that I care to hang on to , I feel this little gem must have been one you were loathe to sell.

I love the color of her clothing against the neutral geometry of the fence.

Thanks Chris and Terri so much for your kind words. I do miss this painting. My daughter looks so much different now; tall and skinny. I'd still like to get her cooperation for an updated portrait. She'd be a bit of a challenge now.

Garth

Thanks so much David, and Sharon. You are so encouraging to me. Since I had looked at this hanging on the wall every day, I could not be objective as to whether it contained any merit or not as a painting, but being of my daughter at an age that has passed, it held a lot of personal value to me. With your encouragement I may find a way to explore painting another similar portrait.

Garth

This is truly captivating.

I can understand the 'torn' feeling. I use my children for paintings also. Usually I dont feel attached, but if it stays on the walls awhile they start to feel like 'part of the family'.

We should all go and paint our children every chance we get - maybe we'll get to keep one or two!

What a lovely painting, Garth! And it reconfirms my own preferences in that an outdoor painting should have looser, fresher, more "shimmery" brushwork than does an indoor painting. I also love all the movement in the painting - the diagonals add a lot of interest. No surprise that this sold!

I think the sale of this ushers in the need to revisit how your daughter looks to you through your "artist's eyes", as opposed to your "daddy eyes."

Great expressiveness abounds in this piece. She seems to say, "You done yet? 'Cuz I'm goin'!" Wonderful movement in the design and brushwork.

I regret to say that I have not painted my children. Seeing this piece tells me I'd better get on it.

Thanks for your insight!
 

Dear Kim, Linda, and Rob,

Thank you all for your kind comments and keen insights.

Kim: You are so right and set a good example for the rest of us. Are there ways of persuading family members to be more cooperative with requests to paint them?

Linda: Thanks! I really appreciate your insight about handling shimmer and brushwork in outdoor portraits. This makes perfect sense. Nature is in motion outdoors, and with full spectrum natural illumination, those colors really can dance and shimmer. You've just given me paradigm shifting insight about my current works in progress.

Rob: Thanks! The moment was quite fleeting and was gone in a flash. You know how little kids can be. Now let us both heed Kim's good advice and get some family portraits going!

Garth

Garth you will always be one of the top dogs in my book! :)

I wanted to add in addition to the painting how lovely your daughter is!
:thumbsup:

Thanks Beth!

She will be flattered to hear this. Maybe with that feedback, she will pose again (without a grimace).

Garth

Garth,

I hope you have a high resolution image that could eventually be reproduced as a giclee. The portraits I have done of my kids over the years are like a family album. To part with one would be really hard.

You do fabulous work. I can understand the "hole" on your gallery wall.
Let me take the time here to thank you for all your many contributions to the forum. I have personally benefited immeasurably from them.

Thanks again.

Richard,

I am overwhelmed with your kind words. Thank you!

A giclee would have been an excellent consideration. Perhaps I can contact the buyers for a better resolution image.

Actually it was the gallery which sold the piece. They telephoned me and begged it to be returned for the impending sale. This was just as well because my studio is a bit too humble to share.

Garth

Threatening always works well for me. :)
Actually - mine are such hams. My daughter gets offended when I use a different model. My youngest complains that I havent painted him as many times as the other two - and my 13-yr-old son is just easy going about it all. You've never met three more self-confident kids. We may have told them how beautiful they are a little too much!

There is always bribery as well. My kids will do a lot of posing for $10.
The only one I cant get to pose is my husband. He is willing, but I always seem to ask when he is busy or hasn't shaved, etc.. My mother-in-law is greatly offended that I haven't painted him yet.... :o

Garth,

Lucky you , having such a lovely daughter. I bet that you will regret selling that painting!

When I opened the post yesterday I saw the painting before realizing it was yours. I felt it looked familiar, European in a way, somewhat underplayed or unpretentious in the attitude.

Lovely, very indeed !

Allan

Allan.

Gosh, Thanks! I am feeling fortunate, having posted this and having so many friends like you loading my subject and I with compliments. As a dad, I also feel fortunate with a daughter who's lovely and bright, although certainly most all parents feel the same about their kids most of the time. What had not sunk into my head before the sale was that an image like this might resonate with others too. Now that feels complimentary. Of course your own lovely portraits of your daughters resonate universally on this Forum.

I am fascinated by the complimentary "European" attributes you mention, which feels fine to me. What makes a portrait more European than, say, American? Since my family has been American for three-eighths of a millenia, it would probably be stretching things to suggest I had some kind of European insight and connection, as desireable as that would be. Although I admit, I was fortunate to travel all over western Europe just over twenty years ago. I suppose that had a positive influence or two upon me. Twenty-one years...... I need to return!

Thanks again,

Garth

Beautiful Garth. I love the juxtaposition of the neutral background with the color in your daughter's complexion and clothing.

No surprise how beautiful it its. I do have to admit, it feels different than your other paintings. It's more alive, fresh, as in capturing a moment in time as oppossed to the formal or posed portraits. It's better than a snapshot. I love the way you can handle a brush, and with the closeups of the hair, it's looks like you can handle the opposite end of the brush also.

There is so much movement, I can envision her moving back and forth and side to side with the fence as her support. Beautiful expression. You, and the new owner of the painting are blessed.

Painterly
 

Looks very painterly man! I like!

Dear Marvin, Jimmie, and Tim,

Thanks so much for your enthusiastic and affirmative responses. I had no idea this humble painting would get the response it has. You have all made my day.

Marvin, thanks for liking the color relationships. I have to credit my wife's fine eye for the outfit worn that day, but I always loved that peculiar faded yellow-green sweater against the denim dress. The figure is more or less a co-relationship of very understated primary colors off set by the more neutral background. Soft colors seem to work well with small children. Just a few months back, I scrubbed an indanthrone blue glaze over all the background, then rubbed it all off again as hard as I could. It left it's mark none-the-less, and the slight blue shift seemed to add a little cohesion to the neutral tones and give a subliminal affinitive resonance with the dress. This also set off the partial warmth in the flesh tones better. While quite fair, my daughter's black/white heritage, makes complex, subtle undertones seem slightly elusive to establish, never-the-less there's unmistakable fidelity in her soft rosy glow.

Jimmie: Ha! You caught me in the act of agressively digging and scribbling with the wrong end of the brush. It felt good, and chances are good I'll do some more on paintings to come. She was moving at the moment I captured her. There is no way of conceiling this fact. Generally this can present a challenge in portraiture when a static, naturally focused pose that a sitter can hold for some time, is usually the ideal. But after all, don't kids at this age move around a lot?

Tim: Thanks! Why can't I always remain painterly? It's tough some times.

Thanks again for your insights.

Garth

How did I miss this, Garth. It is delightful!

Jean

Garth--

I really like this a GREAT deal. What it shows when placed beside your more formal, "tighter" work, is that three-dimensionality and solidity is not a function of paint application or style, but correct observation. This is rock-solid and very volumetric, even with the looser painterliness. And as I view it more, it's got a really fine color sensibility.

Plus, I just love the complexity of her mood and expression. It's real life, not manufactured cuteness...you don't need more. A real lesson for me (and all of us).

I'da bought it too, but it wouldn't have taken me years...!

Best--TE

!Really!?
 

Dear Jean, and Tom,

Thanks so much for your very kind affirmative words.

Tom: I am in humble awe of your eloquent apraisal. Your insights are also a lesson right back to me again! :thumbsup: Thanks.

All the best to you too,

Garth

PS: I'ts a strange day with the number four for me today at this Forum. While this thread paused at 444 views, Apotheoun , in the Figurative Unveilings section, simultaneously landed on 4444 views. Weird (in a nice way)!

"May the FOURS[sic] be with you! ";)