I just love working with old photographs! I enjoy capturing the colour and lighting only achieved with an analogue camera, no digital perfection, just expression. Portraits based on vintage photos have featured in my commissions list, many as gifts to family members. Not only are they very interesting and I always ask my clients about the history behind them, they offer a unique insight into the way people dressed, interiors, cars, exteriors… This family portrait painting was no different and I captured here a few generations of a family standing outside their thached cottage that was gifted as a birthday gift to the mother in the photo.
The reference photograph
It was no different with this photograph. I was asked to re-create it, removing some members of the family, and adding others, as a birthday gift to the Mum in the photo. The client is pictured in the photo too and she was the little baby being held by her Mum. The photo includes my client’s grandparents and siblings too. She wanted me to capture the cottage they lived in as the background for the portrait.
I removed a few elements from the photo. These included the roof of the car in the front, the lady and little girl on the very left and the little girl on the right. I also added a baby to the mother’s arms on the right. The baby I added is my client now! What a great story and a great idea for a birthday present for her mother in the photo.
My painting process
The progress of the painting took me through some typical stages I take when creating artwork from photos. Firstly, I created a painted sketch using a small round brush loaded with watered yellow ochre. Secondly, I started adding colour block to the main characters at first. The canvas is small at 30 x 30 cm to capture the entire body and face in good detail. Therefore, I used a small round brush for most of the process.
Once I was happy with the overall sketch and how I was progressing on the adding the basic colours, I simply carried on with this process. I covered the entire canvas surface with paint. I kept adding colour to create a rich cover of paint and to capture the likeness of the characters. Lastly, I unified the surface with final detail, again using a small round brush. For the background, I used a small flat brush which made the process a little faster for me.
And once I was finished…
I really enjoyed capturing the atmosphere of the scene. The sunshine creates beautiful strong shadows in the painting and I made sure to keep them strong. I wanted to create a strongly coloured portrait to re-interpret the scene and the beautiful summer weather.
I am delighted as my client was too very happy with the finished painting:
Hi Ivana! The painting is unbelievable, thank you so much. It captures everything I wanted it to.
I’m so excited to give it to her [mum]. I know she is going to absolutely love it. Many thanks again.
Katie upon seeing the finished painting emailed to her as a scan in June 2026, Terenure, Dublin
Receiving the email from Katie meant I could apply two coats of satin varnish to the surface and prepare the canvas for shipping. I let the varnish dry fully for 24 hours, wrapped it first in some tissue paper, then in many layers of cardboard. I posted the family painting to Katie and it can begin a new life in her mother’s home.
I took some photos of the finished canvas in my studio and with some of my business cards before I posted it over to its new owner. Thank you for your commission!
To conclude
I have been busy these days, I have a lot of commissions on the way. I will try and keep updating this space, but please be patient with me as Christmas season is almost upon us. It is always a busy period for me, one I thoroughly enjoy! I have some variety of paintings and drawings to work on already and I cannot wait to get stuck in! As always I will keep my Instagram stories going with what is on the easel or drawing every few days, so check it out before you go!
But please contact me if you have a commission of your own in mind. My contact email is info@trueimage.ie and my contact form is available on my Contacts page.
