sunset
Wonder and Warning Exhibit. View from atrium . Fireside Gallery at Art Gallery of Burlington. Burlington, ON
In pandemic times , all my portrait commissions are from photos supplied to me from the client. Although I work directly from these photos, I always strive to make the portrait more than that image sent me, that the spirit and character of the subject shines through brighter.
Recently, I was commissioned to paint a portrait of a house as a surprise Christmas gift for the client’s spouse. The house was the spouse’s childhood home in the UK. The client wondered if there was a way to show that the spouse’s father, who had recently passed, was at home, and working in his second floor office.
I was moved by this thoughtful, loving idea of a portrait.
The reference photo (i.e. the photo I was to work from) was in focus. I could clearly see the shape and colour of the brickwork and roof.
But it taken on a very grey day, which subdued all colour and contrast. The windows and doorway were dark.
A garage and car that did not belong to the homeowners was predominant in the lower left of the photo. The planters were empty.
It was a snapshot of a house but not the story of the home.
So how to make the painting more than simply a copy of the photo supplied?
Portrait of a House ©Christine Montague 16” x 20” oil painting. House portrait from a supplied photograph
I have not lived near any of my family since my youth. I understand the emotion of returning home, what it is like to pull into the driveway of a well lit home, the knowledge of the people you love and who you know love you excitedly waiting inside.
So how to insert this emotion into the painting?
Plus also place emphasis on the centre window on the second floor which was the Father’s office?
The simple solution to bring attention to the study window was to make the scene a night painting, and “turn on” the light in the room.
I personally enjoy looking at night scenes paintings, but I was sensitive to the fact that the loss of the parent was too recent, and a dark scene , even in beautiful blues, could be perceived as too mournful.
But by creating a sunset painting , I could still the house with lights on.
A sunset painting is overflowing with the symbolism of beauty, life, reflection, the end of the day, and the promise of tomorrow.
What better sky for this portrait painting?!
Now that the scene was to be a sunset painting, I could introduce a new warm palette of pinks, gold, and mauve to the image. Warm colours are inviting, appealing and bring energy to an artwork.
The bricks of the house, although in a brown considered on the warm side, were actually glazed over in a cool blue as the front of the house was basically backlit and in shadow.
This contrast of warm sky and cool house front added dimension to the painting and added emphasis to the lit up window.
I used the brightest colours on the office window. The white was clean and bright and so was the yellow.
The bricks around the office window are lighter than elsewhere, the illusion light was escaping from the space.
On the left of the painting, I toned down the attached garage of the neighbour and and omitted their car.
I set the house a bit further back than it was in the photo so that the viewer could follow the path up to the house.
The other windows of the house reflect the sky and create a frame for the office window.
The darkness on the pathway rail takes the viewer’s eye to the hanging flowers on the right of the door and jump up the line of the darkest bricks up to the office windows.
And I think this portrait of a house fits these parameters. But much more importantly, the recipient did, too.
The British philosopher Sir Bernard Williams said “It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream”.
How true for us all. I am very grateful to the clients that they entrusted me with this poignant portrait .
Today's Advent Calendar features the polar bear portrait from my painting In the Pink. Well, Christmas is just a week away and once again family get-togethers here in Ontario, Canada, are being limited due to the spread of the Omicron virus. So we're not quite "in the pink" here, but like this intelligent bear we're cautiously moving ahead. Enjoy your December 18th, and stay safe!
Learn more about In the Pink here
Polar bears rock ! Yes, polar bears are awesome, but there's another way they "rock", too.
In the fall , the polar bear finds its way to the sea’s shore to wait for the ice to form. It has been months since it has feasted on it vital source of nutrition - the ringed seal. And it needs the frozen sea in order to catch this seal, travel, mate, and shelter.
Polar bears are excellent at conserving their energy. They enjoy a nap amongst, (or on) the rocks and willows. It is easy from afar to mistake a still, motley white and cream polar bear for one of the big rocks in the landscape.
In my latest polar bear painting, A Polar Rock Waiting Beneath the Northern Lights, a graphically painted landscape, I strive to bring you into the magic and otherworldliness of the north. It is a world as filled with wonder and danger, beauty and vulnerability, found in any storybook tale.
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30" x 40"x 1.5" oil painting. Edges are black. Wired, ready to hang.
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Regular price is $2500 CAD. However, until Feb 28th, 2021 enter POLARBEAR21 to receive 10% discount in celebration of International Polar Bear Day. Free shipping in Canada
(Sorry, cannot be applied to custom art or portraits)
In the Pink (below) Regular price is $884.96 CAD + 115.04 hst = $1000 CAD
Special price until (and incl.) February 28th, 2021 is $796.46 CAD + 103.54 hst = $900 CAD
BONUS! Free shipping to Canada.
In the Pink. 24” x 25” oil painting on canvas. ©ChristineMontague More info on this painting here
A powerful looking polar bear is portrayed against the setting sun, and the sea. The darkness of the winter is retreating, as is the sea ice, so important for the polar bear's survival.
As the sun sets, its glory is reflected in what remains of the sea ice and off the polar bear's translucent fur.
We can reflect, too. What will we loose under the threat of climate change? A setting sun offers hope with a new day ahead, but it also symbolizes the end of a story. Do we want a happy one? .
24" x 24' x 1.5" Painting continues around edges. Wired ready to hang. Certificate of Authenticity supplied.
$1000 CAD. Free shipping to Canada. Shipping is available worldwide. Contact me here
Into the Sunset 1 © Christine Montague ChristineMontague.com
The painting below has the perfect title - Looking Back, Moving Forward - for New Year's Eve. New Year’s Eve is all about saying goodbye to what has been a heck of a year, and saying hello with great anticipation, to the new one.
Looking Back, Moving Forward tells a story about a polar bear in the spring (the next thing we can look forward to). The arctic night has ended, dramatic sunsets make their reappearance , the sea ice is breaking up, and the polar bear returns to the tundra. As the day draws to an end, the sun’s glory is reflected off the open water, the remaining ice, and the polar bear's translucent fur - sea, ice and polar bear connected by its light, colour and warmth.
In the movies, setting off into the sunset symbolizes a happy ending, but it is also the promise of a new day ahead.
Looking Back, Moving Forward is a 24" x 24" x 1.5" oil painting ©Christine Montague . It is available.
