Knowing when to say "No"

Michael Georges · 11-24-2002, 01:11 PM

This is a post about working from bad reference.

You know the situation, you are approached by a client who wants you to do a painting - they have this photograph. You look at it and it is a little 4" x 6" pic taken under bad lighting - it is washed out, the colors are bad, the composition looks like a "photo composition".

You think to yourself, "It is going to be hard to make a good painting out of this." At least, hopefully that is what you think. There is more to good portraiture than just copying what you see in a photo. A timeless portrait has elements of light which model the subject(s) attractively with good highlights and good shadow areas, an appealing "portrait composition" rather than a "photo composition", and possibly a narritive value too. A portrait has to "live" on the wall for years and give the viewer something new to see every time they look at it.

I have made it a practice to inform clients that I am happy to look at their photograph, but they they need to understand that what makes a good photograph does not necessarily make a good painting. If we are to work from photos, the quality of the reference ultimately effects the quality of the painting and I want to give them the best painting I can. In the case of a bad pic, I reserve the right to say "No" and I have done so a half dozen times in the past year.

Working from bad reference is just not worth it - for you, for your portfolio, and it is an injustice to your client who is trusting in your artistic instincts on when to say "No".

Michele Rushworth · 11-24-2002, 01:45 PM

I wholeheartedly agree, Michael. When I first got back into this business after a hiatus of many years I accepted a commission that I still regret.

The photo the client loved was fifteen years old and couldn't possibly have suffered from worse lighting problems, among many other issues. It was to be a painting for a friend and since it was my first commission in this city and I was just starting to get my name out there, I accepted it. Very bad move!

It was a monstrous struggle to paint, and the result is not at all satisfactory to me. The client, however, liked it very much. It will never make it into my portfolio, though.

Our mutual friends now see this painting whenever they visit the home where this piece hangs. These mutual friends are some of my prospects for future commissions and I imagine that this unsuccessful painting now colors their perceptions about my work.

I wish I had never painted it!

Julianne Lowman · 12-04-2002, 11:01 AM

It's ironic that when I began painting portraits, I was so excited about the prospects of painting the perfect portrait of a subject bathed in gorgeous north light with exquisite composition and well defined-yet smooth values. What I got was an old Walmart (you know the get 10,000 pics for 1.99 deal) photo. The subject in the photo was 3 years old, now 8, and the mother HAD to have that moment captured in time forever in a painting. Being a novice, I accepted the challenge. I changed a great deal of the original photo, removing the hokey backgrounds and props, to make it my own and offer some element of artistic composition. I was pleased, the mother was also. My next attempt was not so pleasant and I vowed NEVER AGAIN, unless it was the case of a posthumous portrait, end even then, I'll be extremely choosy as to the subject matter used.

Why is it that when people find out I'm a portrait artist, they say, "Oh!" and begin rummaging in their purse or wallet, pull out an old tattered wallet-sized snapshot and say, "Can you do this?"

UGH!

"No" is a difficult concept when you're a starving artist, but some "yes" responses may come back to haunt you! I don't know a single artist that hasn't learned this the hard way!

Kris Coolens · 02-24-2003, 09:37 AM

My last commission was also done with a picture that just didn't cross the limit "no". It was a simple identity card picture. I made a good scan and enlarged it. The scan was pretty clear. Fortunately the client wanted the drawing in charcoal so I didn't have to worry about colors, just values.
It was meant to give it as a surprise gift, and he had only one photograph.

When he showed me the picture, I examined it for a long time before accepting the commission. I said I was going to try, but that it wasn't going to be easy with such a little picture. But I managed to make a good drawing, not my best, but good. The client was happy with the result, so I was too. I admit it was a risk, a challenge.

Julianne Lowman · 03-04-2003, 11:01 AM

Recently I received a new commission of a 5 year old who had just passed away. Because the family lives over 1,000 miles away, the boy's father sent me many photos and a video. All but one photo was grainy, blurry, and very difficult establish values or proper colors. Unfortunately, the family LOVES one photo in particular and enlarged it to further enhance the flaws in the photo. They also selected "wardrobe" from yet another bad photo. One photo, a school picture, is the only clear shot, but not the best expression.

I hate to say "no" in this situation since I've already done a portrait of another child and they want this one to match. This little angel, while on earth, had to suffer so much with physical pain and mental challenges, I want to give this my best effort before having to decline the commission. This one's not about the money.

I will begin today with several studies to find out which one will "work".

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mike McCarty · 03-04-2003, 11:21 AM

Julianne,

How bout posting a few of the photo's under a new thread. Maybe some of the talented people here on the forum (yourself included) can help with a composite.

Linda Nelson · 03-04-2003, 02:14 PM

Two years ago I did a commission of a 7 year old with her 3 year old sister. The 7 year old at the time had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and was not physically able to pose for the portrait (in addition the portrait was to be a surprise to the mother). Family members sent me photos, and there was one of each girl where the face was workable, but the pose was not. So I devised a composition that would integrate the face angles of the subjects with completely different body poses, then recruited two neighbor girls ages 7 & 3 to pose for the shot. At the photo shoot I kept the subject's face shots near me to ensure I matched the appropriate photo angles.

The painting was very successful, and they let me know that they even brought the painting to the funeral, which I think was a positive testament to how much the painting represented their daughter even though technically the composition originated from something I contrived.

Hope this is good inspiration for your project. One last thing, I personally made a point to make the scale of the childen close to full size (the canvas was 36 x 48), because as a mother I felt it was a better way to stay close to someone who means so much to you.

I'm sure you'll do a great job, and know that your struggles to make the portrait work will be appreciated very deeply.

Good Luck
Linda

p.s. Should you try this, try to be very aware of the lighting too!