Call For Models

I need live models for a portrait series to present at the Portland Open Studios 2010 in October. I cannot pay for professional sitters and do not have enough commissioned pieces for a show, so I am going to be giving away the finished paintings to the individual sitters after the show is over, and the pieces properly documented.

If you are interested in participating in the project you will need to agree to the following terms:

• No requirements as far as age, sex, race or appearance

• Need to be willing to meet at least once a week for 2-3 hours for at least 6 sessions

• The sitter cannot make any demands on the actual content of the painting; lighting, composition, color choice, size, and level of detail will all be determined by the artist

• Must have own transportation, or can easily reach my studio at 2211 NE Front Ave, Portland Oregon (About a 10 minute walk from the edge of the Pearl District and accessible by the 16 bus line)

• Must wear the same simple outfit featuring no logos, text or copyrighted images to each sitting (flat colors and patterns are fine). The outfit can be kept at the studio and changed into each day if preferred. For women, wearing little or no makeup is preferred.

• No drastic changes to the sitter's appearance in the middle of the process (Newly shaved head, new face or neck tattoo, new facial piercing or gauging, etc... a haircut is not a problem as long as it isn't a major change in style or color)

• The painting will be turned over to the sitter after it has been properly documented; no earlier than November 2010, and no later than one year after the painting is completed.

• If the sitter moves away from the area or cannot pick up the painting themselves for any reason, they will need to pay any shipping costs.

• If the sitter cannot be contacted or located after one year, the artist will retain ownership of the painting.


I don't really like setting up lists of rules for this type of thing, but I know from experience that it's always best to try and anticipate problems or misunderstandings before they happen.

If you're interested in being a model, or know someone that is; please contact me by email or phone

dhenderson@dana-illustration.com
617-888-3411

New Studio Space, New Project

Moved into a new studio space a couple weeks ago. It's a great space in a co-op studio fairly near my house; I already feel pretty at home there. My next project is going to be getting a body of work together for the Portland Open Studios Show, to that end I'm going to be doing free portraits of live models; the details will be explained in a separate post. Since I haven't done much work since October I've recently been painting simple sketches to try and get back into an art-creating mode.

Here are a couple photos of the space:

Small Edits

Moved the rest of my old portraits into the slideshow despite still only having poor shots of them; also made a couple of tweaks to the FAQ to better represent the fact that I am accustomed to working from photos; this is the additional text:

How do I submit reference photos?

If a subject lives far away or for any reason is unable to participate in sittings, I am happy to work from photos sent by email or regular post.

FAQ

I've posted some better photos of my four most recent portraits, I only had the camera for a little while so I took photos of the portrait of Aisling even though it isn't completely finished yet. I couldn't get the lighting quite right so there's still quite a bit of glare coming off of them; I tried to correct for it, but I'm still probably going to need to get them professionally done at some point when I've saved up a bit more. It's better than nothing for now though. You can see full-size versions of them by clicking on the slideshow on the right.

I'm heading off to a charity event today, I'll hopefully be getting some commissions out of it; I wrote up this quick FAQ to give out to people along with my business cards and I thought I'd post it up here as well:

Portraiture FAQ
A hand-painted portrait is an expression of beauty as well as a piece of documentation, it can enrich your surroundings as a decorative object of art while telling the story of a moment. a professionally painted oil-portrait is a treasure at once more personal and more mysterious than any photo.

An art commission is a great gift for loved ones or yourself, to celebrate any momentous occasion; such as a wedding or anniversary, promotion, birthday, retirement, or simply as a spontaneous gift given in the spirit of love or friendship. A portrait will bring immediate joy and satisfaction, and can become an heirloom passed down to later generations.


What materials do you use?

My portraits are produced with high quality oil paints on hand stretched linen canvas, or a pre-stretched cotton duck canvas. Depending on the needs of the piece I can also work on wood, masonite or heavy paper.

All the materials are top quality and archival; so with proper care they will last for generations. After a one year drying period, at the owner's discretion, I will give the piece a coat of protective varnish at no additional charge.


How much does a portrait cost?

The price of a portrait is based on a number of factors:

• Size of painting

• Number of people being painted

• Complexity of clothes and background

• Time restraints

Payment is typically given in two installments, with a down payment of half the commission at the beginning of the process and the other half once the piece is completed. Previous commissions have ranged in price from approximately $350 - $1250.


Do you paint from life or photographs?

It is my preference to spend as much of the process as possible painting directly from life. If a subject is unable to participate in multiple sittings I can easily work from good, clear photographs as well. Whenever possible I will take these photographs myself.


How long does it take?

If painting from life, work will generally take place over the course of 6-10 90 minute sittings per person being painted. These sittings are primarily to work on the face and hands. I will take photographs at these sittings in order to do further work on details, background, jewelry and clothing. The entire process can take from two weeks to two months, dependent on the complexity of the piece as well as the schedules of myself and the subject. If there is a time limitation, a faster schedule can be worked out.

Where do live sittings occur?

I can travel to my subject and work in house, but due to practical concerns it is generally easier if work occurs at my studio currently located in Northeast Portland.

My Background

Dana Henderson has worked as an artist his entire life, and is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art.
He has work hanging in Massachusetts, California, Oregon and Southern France.

Aisling early work

Just a couple of days into this one.

2 Kates - Midpoint

When I started working on this commission there was a little back and forth with the client about which photo to use; I liked one and they preferred another, but eventually left the final decision up to me. I wasn't sure what photo to use. Since I'm still waiting on a new roll of canvas to arrive I've been buying pre-stretched canvasses, and the art store happened to be having a 2 for one sale at the size I wanted to use; that was reason enough for me to decide to just do both photos simultaneously. These are both unfinished; but the finals will remain fairly loose.

Ben Finish; and Kate underpainting

Well, I've finally finished the painting of Ben; I might do some touchups on a few things once it's fully dried. Boy, that took way longer than it should have.

I've also started early work on my next piece. It's a simpler sort of 'palate cleanser' I'm doing before I tackle the bigger commission I have in the pipeline. These small and rougher portraits are really my favorite thing to do.

I'll also point out that these photos have been taken on my Camera Phone, so they aren't exactly the best quality. Once I have a few finished pieces together, I'll do more professional photography session of them all.