I painted a portrait of PJ and his cattle a couple of months ago just before the summer. His portrait was a commission from his daughter-in-law. This was a birthday gift for PJ’s son, my client’s husband. Jayme, my client, wanted to give her husband a special surprise. The photo I worked from is his favourite of his late father PJ, who, according to Jayme, was a real character. The field in which he is standing is now the site of Jayme and her husband’s house. She had an idea to commission this painting to hang in the house so PJ can always be with them…
Hi Ivana. PJ is his name, he was a really great character & I’m so happy that we will have this piece of him in our home & hopefully in our daughter’s home one day 🙂
Jayme speaking about PJ and how special the painting is for her and her family, July 2025
I had one photograph to work from. It is an old vintage photo. I love working from these kind of photographs. They bring a certain charm and a specific light to an image. It was not very detailed so I worked with a larger brush to convey the spirit and feeling of the photograph onto the canvas.
Jayme was very happy with the painting and really loved the overall framed portrait when she collected it from me.
Hi Ivana! Oh wow, it is amazing, thank you so much, you are so talented. I’m so excited for my husband to see it ? Thank you again!
Jayme in an email after she received a scanned image of the painting, July 2025
The painting is quite large at 50 x 60 cm. Jayme asked me to have it framed and I used my local framers to complete the job. The frame is a simple tray canvas frame with a small shadow gap. The profile of the frame is narrow in a limed wood finish.
I worked quite fast with this painting to allow for some spontaneity in the portrait. I wanted the brush strokes to be visible and natural. I didn’t want to force detail. The photograph had some warm colouring and I wanted to capture this on canvas. I worked in earth tones including yellow ochre and venetian red. I used some burnt umber to further warm the overall painting. I mixed some red and brown tones in with the greens for warmth too.
I started the painting with my now traditional approach of a line sketch in yellow ochre. I use a small round brush for this to place most of the detail and elements onto the smooth grained canvas. Once everything sits where it is supposed to, I carry on the portrait by laying down basic colour blocks. I work throughout the whole surface of the canvas to make sure I achieve harmony in colour and tone. I work in more than one layer in certain areas, especially around the main characters. Here, I added most of the detail around the farmer’s face and clothes, together with the cattle.
Jayme was overjoyed with the painting, so if you have one in mind, don’t hesitate to contact me at info@trueimage.ie with your ideas and photos.
