FINE ART STUDIO PORTRAITure
Step into our studio
Sitting for a painting in our art studio is as personal as it gets and is an experience that you have to live to truly understand. When you sit for a portrait, you will feel seen…
because you are.
OUR STYLE
It’s our goal to work within the bounds of official portraiture, while immersing our clients in the elegance, grace and gravitas that fine art presents. But! We also aim to take some of the stuffiness out of it. Our portraits go beyond pure representation. They tell a story, and exude personality above all.
It's all in the eyes. It’s realistic, yet painterly. If you really want to get into it, the term for our style of brushwork is BRAVURA: Painted in a daring, yet painterly way. When you’re looking up close, the painting looks very textured and bold, but when you step back, the painting looks realistic and alive!
INITIAL SKETCHES & STUDIO SITTING
While photographs are helpful throughout the process (and we’ll snap a few along the way), we will invite you to our studio for a two to three hour sitting for the initial sketches and palette prep. It's important that we spend time with you so we can better feel your personality and aura, because that is truly what our work will capture. We’ll ask you to arrive with hair, makeup and attire to your liking.
Hosting you in our studio allows us to have the right lighting as we sketch and take photos. Lighting is everything and can make or break a portrait…and our studio is equipped with all the lights!
THE EXPERIENCE
During your sitting, we will have wine, coffee, treats, and music playing to create a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere in the studio. We are very intentional to allow you space to be natural and at ease, and we’ll also give you detailed direction and pose guidance.
Each portrait is accompanied with several pencil sketches and painting color studies. We use these to develop the perfect composition and color harmonies for your final painting. We’ll also take a handful of photographs.
We understand that being in front of the camera can be nerve-wracking, but want you to know that we will bring out the best in time.
YOUR PORTRAIT
After the first and only sitting, we will continue our work in the studio for several months until it's complete! Once the painting is complete, we will varnish and frame the portrait. In person, fine art studio portraits begin at $3,000. We are also proud to offer portraiture from photographs without any studio sitting.
WHAT INSPIRED US TO START FINE ART STUDIO PORTRAITURE?
…It goes all the way back to the 1800s.
The painting ‘Madame X’ by John Singer Sargent originally inspired us to offer in-studio fine art wedding portraits, and it created quite the scandal when it was first exhibited! This painting initially showed one of her dress straps hanging seductively from her shoulder. Both the pose and dress were also uncommon for the time.
Sargent had to change the painting, and place the strap back up on her shoulder because people thought it was tacky and too seductive. Her dress also had a deep V neck cut, revealing a lot of her pale skin.
Fun, crazy fact: women drank arsenic back then to achieve pale skin!
We just love this story. Sargent was way ahead of his time, and we also love how large this portrait is.
BRIDAL PORTRAIT COLLECTION
Marry the celebratory buzz of your wedding with the quiet, empowering, and personal portraiture experience in our artist’s studio.
You’re invited to immortalize not just the beauty and structure of your wedding gown, suit, or custom attire, but the emotions and memories tied to the occasion of your wedding. Sit in the experience of intimate, in-studio wedding portraiture, and preserve the significance of being a newlywed.
Our fine art studio portraiture offers a much needed breath of reflection in an otherwise busy and energetic season. It allows you to slow down and savor the experience of this time in your life. We’ll capture not only your physical appearance, but the essence of your joy, love, and commitment.
This artwork, the painted-from-life portrait of you, becomes a piece of your legacy. Every brush stroke holds the beauty, vulnerability, and radiance of this moment in your life.
Ready to learn something new about yourself? Book below!