"Ann had a mirror behind her easel so I could see what she was doing," says the Virginian. Among her house-guest clients has been Carolyn Johnston. In contrast to Rushworth, Kenyon often invites subjects to stay with her while she works on their portraits. Jacksonville, Fla.- based artist Ann Manry Kenyon has a soft, romantic style, and demands $13,000 to $25,000 for a pastel, $16,000 to $30,000 for an oil painting. Because many of the Seattle-based artist's clients are on the East Coast or in the South, Rushworth makes house calls and takes "hundreds of photographs." Michele Rushworth charges $8,000 to $12,000 for a child's portrait, $10,000 to $16,000 for an adult's, and produces realistic paintings rich with color. Kinstler charges $25,000 to $100,000 a commission, and lobbies for at least four sittings, preferably in the morning, when the light is good. The artist, 84, is known for a classic style similar to Sargent's, technically defined as "painterly" - the composition's lines aren't sharply defined, and the canvas shows obvious brushwork. Do I use photographs? Yes, because I may only have a limited amount of time with the subject, but they're my photographs," says the Easton, Conn.-based Kinstler. But most prefer - insist, really - on some face time to make preliminary sketches and snap a cache of their own photos with assorted poses, outfits and gazes. Some portraitists willingly paint with only the aid of photographs provided by a client or a client's family. "The more an artist can get to know you, probably the better the portrait is going to be."
"A lot of people don't want to allow enough time with the artist and I always advise them not to be in a rush," says Baughman. Not just the artist of choice needs to be available - you need to be available. "When I'm trying to match clients with an artist, one of the first things I ask is how quickly they need the portrait," says portrait-broker Baughman. Some clients come to her Florida home for sittings.Ī key consideration in choosing an artist: the calendar. "What makes a person interesting are imperfections and personality." "They were the most difficult to paint," confesses Kinstler.
Portrait painter with canvas plus#
Bush, Paul Volcker and Lawrence Summers, plus socialite Julia Koch and several Miss Americas. Kinstler's commissions include Gerald Ford, George W. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, as well as canvases of Gloria Vanderbilt, Lauren Bacall and Joanne Woodward. Shikler's brush produced the official White House portraits of John F. But the two grand old men of portraiture are Aaron Shikler and Everett Raymond Kinstler. Green, Nelson Shanks and William Chambers. Top names in the field include Burton Silverman, John Howard Sanden, Daniel E. Many clients prefer pastel for children's portraits, for example.
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To start the process, spend some time at Websites like or It will help you settle on style (realistic or impressionistic), mood (formal or informal), setting (indoor or out), size (head and shoulders, ¾ or full length) and medium (oil, watercolor, charcoal or pastel). The first order of business is to decide just who is going to paint the portrait. "Paul Volcker," by the eminent Ray Kinstler. But your biggest concession - dread of dreads - is giving up control. Depending on the artist, it can cost up to $200,000, even though the recession has made it easier to negotiate fees. Commissioning a portrait of yourself, your spouse, or offspring is a complicated enterprise, requiring a fair amount of time and money. "Photography can be an art in its own right, but people think of portraiture as something more personal."īy comparison, having your photo taken is a snap.
"With all our technology, people start to yearn for a warmer, fuzzier time," says Cynthia Daniel, a former artist's manager and the founder of A Stroke of Genius, an online gallery and artists' referral service. That, apparently, lies at the heart of the attraction. John Singer Sargent described portraiture as "a painting with something wrong with the mouth." Julia Baughman, co-owner of Portraits Inc., a brokerage representing 150 artists, explains the genre in more accessible terms. "And now I'm part of that tradition," Johnston says proudly.
Her husband's mother, her mother, even the couple's two children have been captured by artists. The Johnston household is in fact filled with family portraits.
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