I started on this project because I’m a Heyer fan myself. It was my mom’s idea to do some paintings of Heyer, because she wanted to hang one as inspiration above the table where she (my mom) writes and figured other fans might as well. We both wanted a painting that felt vintage and was pleasing as art, yet recognizable as a portrait of Heyer.
I’ve been happily occupied by bespoke artwork the last few months, and I thought you might like to see a few photos from them!
The first is a painting of Christ of the Sacred Heart. My son-in-law posed for it, but I took liberties with eye color and hair. The clients are Sacred Heart Southern Missions in Walls, Mississippi and I am delighted that they chose me to paint for them!
Christ of the Sacred Heart I, 30” x 24” oil on panel by Thimgan Hayden
Close-Up of Eyes in Christ of the Sacred Heart I by Thimgan Hayden
The second Christ painting will be quite different, with another Jesus, equally gentle and loving, but drawn and painted from my imagination and several sources.
Christ of the Sacred Heart II, on the easel (commissioned)
Additionally, I am doing two or more paintings for fans of English novelist, Georgette Heyer. This first one is in the “it may be done but I have to stop looking at it, for a while” stage! This is my idea of what Georgette may have been like around the time of writing her first work of (published) fiction at the age of seventeen.
Quality canvas prints will be available after the painting is dry and scanned.
Young Georgette Heyer - The Black Moth
16” x 16” oil on panel, Talisman Ring Georgette (Heyer)
Georgette Heyer - The Talisman Ring 16x16 oil on panel SOLD
Do you have an artwork that needs tp be realized? If you’d like to discuss a concept, please contact me. I’d be happy to consider it!
Bishop of Grand Rapids Commission
Below is the finished portrait of Bishop Hurley of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was an excellent sitter and was very gracious to come for 4 sittings so that I could paint the gesture and his face from life, and get good color notes on his clothes.
I kind of like this photo because it shows the amount of warmth and color in the middle values of the painting a little better than the more formal photo of it. I'll try to get another image once it's in it's beautiful frame in a few weeks.
Finished painting of Bishop Hurley- right before delivery
Bishop Hurley finished with a portrait sitting
This second image shows the fourth sitting. I asked to photograph the bishop full length because I was missing a reference for the bottom hem of his white vestment. At this point I had added in a drapery in the background looking for a "naturalistic" way to work in the family crest in the upper left corner of the painting. In the end it seemed too distracting and looked like Bishop was leaning away from the cloth so I took it out and the painting came together beautifully.
An image I looked at for ideas on portraits of bishops with family crests
Close-up of Bishop's face. The light didn't go into the eyes until the very end. I had a hard time breaking eye contact with "him" after I knew that I had gotten it right!
Close-up of the sleeve and cross. I'm using calcium carbonate to build up sleeve texture.
Close-up of lap and hand. This pic is missing a bit of warmth in the fleshtones, oh well.
Thank you, Bishop Hurley and the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, for permission to share these images of our portrait project.
Hello! I've fallen behind on posting here....keeping up with technology takes a lot of time! I'm learning how to get newsletters running and e-posts of new work. Somehow I manage to paint, teach, and raise a family, too! Here is a pic of me working on a self-portrait. I really couldn't paint sight-size on this one because of the easel feet hitting each other and the way the light was coming in and lighting (or not) my painting enough.
"Forsythia" 16x12 oil on panel
Self-portrait about halfway through
Works lined up for summertime showing. I love seeing a wall of them at a time. It seems so seldom that I amass any amount of them and get to see them as a group.
Self-portrait finished. I'm wearing my favorite short-sleeved sweater and my Zecchi's painting apron.
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