Artist's Process

Carolyn recalls her first important work was commissioned by her eighth grade teacher.  She was asked to portray Abraham Lincoln for her class' official "Freedom" poster.  It would be on display for visitor's day and then be placed on the school bulletin board.  She still remembers that while working on his portrait she felt as if she knew him. Lincoln was emerging from the canvas.  Carolyn found the same sentiment in a remark made by Henry Hensche, whom she was studying under some 15 years later.  "When you paint someone, remember that someone really loves that person."

In Carolyn's opinion all paintings are portraits - flowers, trees, the ocean, people . . . Each portrait holds its own unique lesson to learn.  She believes the challenge of painting a portrait of a person is to be true to what you believe in your approach to painting, while demonstrating to the client an understanding of what you are saying on the canvas with their likeness.  To say that painting someone's portrait is a wonderful experience doesn't emphasize the importance of this process.  Carolyn believes that portraits are decired because words can be misunderstood. 

THE FINANCIAL AGREEMENT

Carolyn prefers to work directly from the subject if possible.  For portraits; Carolyn requests an initial meeting to discuss the goals of the client. She prefers to have at least 3 sittings of 1-2 hours each, more if possible. 

Carolyn places her portraits into three categories:

 - Standard - head or full figure (approximately $3,000)

 - Location Portrait - similar to genre painting, the person picks their favorite setting

($500 - $5,000 landscape, depending on setting, interior backdrop is included)

- Miniature - award winning miniature portraits (approximately $1,500)