Introductions

I'm a freelance illustrator and a Kendall College of Art and Design graduate currently living in Michigan. My work ranges from rendered paintings in watercolor, to still-lifes in pastel, to film storyboards, to more comic-style illustrations in digital or traditional colors. Needless to say, my work is diverse. My intention for use of this blog is to display my artwork in a professional manner and to bring in commission-based business. Essentially, this is my online portfolio. Many illustrators are using blogs these days, and needing a presence for myself, this will hopefully work for me as well. So I encourage you to watch regularly for postings of artwork and perhaps be compelled to call on my services for a commission. Keep in mind that I work in a variety of mediums and subjects, so do not hesitate to ask for something that you might not see here. Just contact me at andrew.shirey@yahoo.com, my work e-mail and my Paypal account.

Read my illustration commissions post as a starting point to get an idea of the potential price range.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Holy Family


Commissioned for Susan, a local lady, as a gift for her mother, she requested a portrait of the Holy Family rendered in watercolors.

For our initial meeting, I brought along a big pile of art books from my personal collection. On a whim, I also did an online search for a handful of other paintings, which I took along on my handy li'l netbook. Like the books, I felt that my client would appreciate looking over various renditions of the Holy Family to help her decide on the details. Wouldn't you know it, she decides on one of the last minute, digital images.

As it turned out, this was a good thing. She took a real shine to "The Holy Family" by Janet McKenzie, whose work I wasn't familiar with in the least. So, I did some searching around and found that I liked a lot of her work and subject matter. While I may not completely agree with the artist's beliefs, I can still appreciate the paintings' beauty and themes. (Holiness & The Feminine Spirit: the Art of Janet McKenzie is a good reference.)

After some discussion, my client and I also chose to go with a more historically accurate portrayal of the Holy Family. So instead of White, or Black like in Janet McKenzie's original, here they are Hebrew. For this aspect, I referred to the artwork of James Tissot, whose attention to accuracy humbles me. Tissot's rendering of Joseph can be seen reflected in my own. (James Tissot: The Life of Christ is another good reference.)

Having finally finished this, I'm very pleased with the result. If you would like a print of this, or commission something similar, please contact me at andrew.shirey@yahoo.com.

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