A House Portrait With Heart & Soul

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? 

Creating a Mood

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?! 

Introducing Colour 

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.

Drawing You Eye to the Office 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.

Portraits are about Likeness, Love, Memory and Tribute

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 .