Capturing Friends

This past week I worked on a commissioned piece for a friend of a friend. The subject of the painting is someone both friends know, and both were present when the photo was taken.

This commissioned portrait brought great joy.

When I received the photo I was to work from, I thought the photo was wonderful, so I knew my job wouldn't be too difficult. (It is not fun to work from bad photos supplied by other people from which you are to make a masterpiece that they will hopefully love.)

I liked this photo because:

• The colors were vibrant and exciting. The fellow was making orange juice and was surrounded by many bright oranges cut into halves. He has beautiful white hair and a mustache and was standing against a dark background which made those things show up really well.
• The glass of wine on the counter lets you know this was a fun undertaking.
• He was very intent on his task, and I enjoy painting people who are engrossed in something they love to do – lost in the moment.

I sent a photo of the the nearly completed painting to the person who had commissioned the piece to get his feedback before I finished it. When he replied to my email, his one-word reaction was, "marvelous!"

What a refreshing descriptor after hearing "awesome" used to describe everything and anything for so long. The other friend said I had caught the moment – and that is the biggest compliment I can be given.  She also added that the glass of wine in the picture ended up all over her white shirt!

Making people happy with my paintings – this is the part of being an artist that is most rewarding for me.

mar·vel·ous [mahr-vuh-luhs]
adjective
1. superb; excellent; great: a marvelous show.
2. such as to cause wonder, admiration, or astonishment; surprising; extraordinary.
3. improbable or incredible: the marvelous events of Greek myth.

awesome [aw-suhm]
adjective
1. inspiring or characterized by awe
2. very impressive

I like marvelous better!

Happy New Year, and here are some more marvelous words to try in 2012:

• extraordinary
• inconceivable
• breathtaking
• unbelievable
• fabulous
• fantastic
• incredible
• miraculous
• phenomenal
• remarkable
• spectacular
• striking
• stunning
• stupendous
• surprising
• wonderful
• wondrous