How to Find an Artist to Paint a Family Portrait

Portrait painting makes a great gift for a special family occasion such as anniversary, graduation, birthday, wedding or Christmas. What makes a portrait an extraordinary gift? Why is this gift so special? Maybe because it is personal, it shows that the person giving the gift really cares about us. Everyone likes to receive gifts that have been made especially for them. And portrait fits perfectly.

So, you decided to commission a portrait. Where do you start looking for a portrait artist to create a portrait for you? You will have to spend some time finding the best artist for the job.

First, don't forget to ask your friends and relatives. They may have commissioned a portrait before. The best thing about your friends and relatives is that they are not trying to sell you anything. They will honestly share their opinions and experiences. They may be able to give you some advice and refer you to a portrait artist they already know. Some of your friends may even be artists themselves. Just remember that not all artists actually can draw or paint people, you need to find a professional artist specializing in portraiture. Portrait artist has the unique ability to capture likeness and character of a person.

Many artists today have their own websites. You can view the examples of their work, read artist statements, biographies and find some other useful information. You can also get a pricing information, although some artists don't put it on the website, so you will have to contact the artist via e-mail or directly through the site. Many artists have their individual art blogs, so that they can connect with other artists and share their ideas. Artists like to show their works-in-progress on their blogs. Which is a great opportunity for you to find out more about them. It is always a good sign when artists share their artistic processes openly. That shows that artists care about their work and actively try to improve their skills. It is also a sign of being open minded, and being open minded is a prerequisite for being creative.

Another way of finding a portrait artist is to visit an online portrait artists directory. There are websites featuring regional, national and international portrait artists. You can browse artists' portfolios and select artists whose style you like the most. Often directories include the pricing information as well, it allows you to compare various artists by price and helps you to stay within your budget. Any good directory will also provide links to artists' websites, so that you can contact them for more information and request a quote.

One of those portrait artists directories is Portraity. You can find great portrait artists and find creative family portrait ideas there.

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Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt is an Austrian artist born in 1862. He studied art at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts and then began working as a team with his brother Ernst and his friend Franz Matsch, calling themselves the Company of Artists. Gustav Klimt was awarded the Golden Service Cross and the Emperor's Prize while working as part of the Company and became a sought-after painter of portraits. The three artists worked together completing public commissions decorating the interiors of buildings until 1892 when Ernst died and Gustav significantly changed his artistic style. Franz began to paint mainly portraits around this time.

Gustav Klimt's style changed from a more classicist style to one of symbolism and art nouveau. He took his last public commission in 1893, but didn't complete these paintings of Medicine, Philosophy and Jurisprudence, meant to hang on the ceiling of the Great Hall of the University of Vienna, until the early 1900s. Once completed, they were criticized as being too lewd and were not hung. These paintings were destroyed by the Nazis, and all that remains of them is black and white reproductions. Klimt's new style tended to be very erotic and usually featured the female form. However, he did also do a number of landscapes in the 1890s on the shores of Attersee during his family's summer holidays.

In 1897, Klimt joined the Vienna Secession, a group of artists that were against the Classicist movement. Klimt was the president of this group, which worked to help unconventional artists get their work displayed by holding exhibitions and producing a magazine showcasing the work of members of the group.

Gustav Klimt went through a phase where he used a lot of gold leaf in his paintings, starting around 1898 and ending around 1910. These paintings also often have a mosaic look to them. Other characteristics found in much of his work include phallic shapes and spirals and swirls. Klimt's primary subject was the female body,and his works are marked by a frank eroticism-nowhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil.

Klimt died in February 1918 after suffering from a stroke and pneumonia. His works are very popular and usually fetch high prices when they are sold. One of his works, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, a portrait he painted in 1907, sold in 2006 for the highest reported price ever paid for a painting, $135 million.

For more details about life and paintings of Gustav Kilimt, visit our website at http://www.gustav-klimt.com/.

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Inventor of the Colour Wheel - Found at Last?

In an earlier article, I described a tool artists can use to get colour right, first time and every time. This immensely useful tool is called The Colour Wheel. Who invented it, where and when, were questions I couldn't begin to answer - until now.

Back then, all I retained was mention in a British documentary film of an expert colourist who was engaged by a tapestry factory in 15th century Paris. Now, thanks to several informative articles on French history, found on the Web, I can share what seem to be the probable answers.

An atelier for tapestries was set up under the royal patronage of Francis 1. Handsome, athletic and adventurous, but not over-endowed intellectually, this king spent most of his life at war, protecting the established Catholic church from the rise of Protestantism. Dubbed by his admirers 'the most Christian of kings,' the irony of his rule lay in his choice of Lutherans and Muslims as allies. But the times were a-changing. Across Europe, the Renaissance turned the arts in exciting new directions. This drew the king's attention away from the battlefield and led him to encourage French artists to create objects of beauty to adorn the public buildings of France.

While getting ready for another war in 1547, Francis died and was succeeded by his son Henry 11. The new regime grew even more repressive against Protestants. Busying himself with the burning of suspected heretics, Henry also shared his father's enthusiasm for foreign wars. These twin obsessions soon had the nation close to bankruptcy, so relief must have been felt by the population when the king's short reign was ended by a fatal injury at a tournament.

One clue testifies to this king's interest in beauty and the arts. A famous set of tapestries, woven at the atelier his father patronised, now hangs at the Paris museum connected with the Gobelin name. Depicting the goddess Diana, it is often rumoured to be a likeness of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry 11.

In 1602, Henry rented factory space for Flemish tapestry makers on the current location of the Gobelins Manufactory. He was the first monarch to decide that rather than considering the arts as questionable luxuries, the State should provide funding for them. In 1607, he set up the world's first tapestry factory owned and operated by the State.

However, not until the advent of Louis XIV was the anarchy of the scattered and diverse ateliers organised. The resulting group was named for the originating family, who were otherwise not connected to it. The new 'Gobelins' employed 250 tapestry-makers, along with painters, engravers, cabinetmakers, goldsmiths and silversmiths. All were charged by the king to work in co-operation for the glory of France.

As Louis saw it, he was France. He was five years old when crowned in 1643, so France was ruled by a regent until 1661, when Louis took full control. His idea of government was based on the theory of 'divine right of kings' and the absolute power it conferred on him. We all know where that led. The dust of revolution is long settled but the beauty created by the skill of tapestry-weavers and the vivid colours of the dye-makers remains.

Dorothy Gauvin is an internationally acclaimed Australian painter in oils who specialises in an epic theme of Australia's pioneers. See images of her 'Life-Story' portraits, an ABC of homemade tools for painters with arthritis, plus tips and advice for aspiring artists and collectors on her website at http://www.artgallerygauvin.com/

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