HAVE YOUR DREAMS PAINTED by award winning artist Jim Warren

I call my portraits, "personalized paintings," because they are fairly radical departures from what are considered classic portraits. The client requests I get are extremely varied, and I try to provide what is wanted.

First, I consult the client to see if he has a concept of the painting. If he doesn’t, then I talk with him and find out about the person whose portrait I’m doing.What is the person like? What are their interests? And, do my clients want something wild and surreal or more calm and serene? For example, I might be approached by parents who like my fantasy art, and they have children who are very active in sports. The family also enjoys the ocean. I might incorporate the children playing some type of sports in the ocean, along with other sea creatures woven into the picture. Then I would meet the children and get twenty or thirty shots of them in various positions. To get a natural pose, I get them to act out the scenario which is going to be the final portrait. When the photos are complete, I do an initial sketch, get my clients’ approval, and they soon have a personalized painting with their children as the subjects.

The photography stage is important when doing a portrait because the individual behind the face must be captured. Probably the most important and most difficult facet of portraiture is communicating the essence of the subject. Everyone has their own spark of individuality, and it’s my job, in doing a portrait, to make sure that that special individual shines through. If you would like to discuss a personal portrait with me after looking at the Portrait Section (linked above) call 1-800-975-9927 during working hours in EST or send an email to jim@jimwarren.com.