What is it about painting of deceased loved one with family that has such an appeal? There are meanings derived from subtleties that get lost in a photo, and a painting can capture that. It imbues every stroke with spirit and emotion. It’s the witnessed communication between you and memory, a secret spoken to the past. With those well-painted eyes sparkled back at you from canvas your dear loved one are coming to life again re-capture yearning to tell what one already know too well. They exhale loudly once again.
The majority will reply: “But I can’t draw a stickman — no way!” Fear not my dear friend, this is why portrait artists exist. Seeking an artist to make that vivid memory a reality is like finding the right spice from your mother’s old recipe all, that’s tricky but delightful when done. A great artist will learn to ask you 1,000 questions — more questions than a three-year-old at bedtime. They want to collect all the tales, remembered places, irritating habits, endearing quirks — anything that will help build the character of that person beyond the generalities that you might find in the description of their typical physical attributes.
Bringing the Portrait to life is not only a kind of dance involving multiple people. You offer stories, imagery, atmospherics, and the artist mixes colors and memories. Believe me, examining the emerging image is like revealing a secret, every mark peeling back the corner of that life remembered a little further.
Artists have a wide range of styles. Some are masters at realism that captures only the subtlest flinch or twinkle of a smile. Others straddle brinkiness, with abstract renderings that take on the periphery of one’s being the way dawn shadows play outside its edges. Whether the path is taken here or there, the painting must match what was your loved one in essence.
And, now, to the elephant in the room — how elegant is it to hang the porttrait? So keep it light and user friendly. Perhaps it will land next to that fiddle-leaf fig or perched above that comfy chair their cat used to curl up on. Make it a part of your day-to-day life Doggone it, not a shrine. You are declaring love, after all greater than putting something in a museum.
As we move the portrait into family spaces, we receive real feedback. “Look at Grandpa there next to Grandma, Sparky curled up next to him” is the sort of sincere exclamation you’d hear. Things like these stir up conversations and new tellings of the stories. So people gather at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee recalling Aunty Gail’s sneaky apartheid or Uncle Joe’s awful jokes delivered completely deadpan.
SCAPEGES: Family Pictures A grace and healing art Portraits of family members pleases our mind. The whole array of little lines, etchings, tonally strong pieces of art that depict the people in their families; they are such a lovely way to get over feeling sorry for oneself and live on the spirits. When was the last time you saw that old family photo that you drooled over and felt a warm feeling in your chest? Portraits are about more than decoration for the wall; they reach deep and tug at your heart.
First and foremost, we cannot forget that these visuals are story tellers. Think of them as bouncers at the door watching out for memories that some people never want to leave behind. They can also condense years of jest and love, a life of shared laughs into just a fragment using a single drawing. Every stroke of the pen is like a time machine, transporting us back to parties, lazy afternoons and, yes, chaotic mornings when we would send our kids to school.
Owning a physically rendered record of one’s own family is like walking through an evidence-shaking show of love. Each face is a canvas of memories in a drawing,’ and the peeling off is often a cluster ballet of emotions. Such expressions open wide a box of affections; words that swirl with memories and warmth and sensation; and they bring us smiles of ushered joy and tears of reflection.
But yes there is a lot more besides rapid payback of course. These portraits do not just hang on the walls; the make connections with family drawn tighter than might otherwise be the case. For hard times, they offer comfort — a tiny hug from the past in an unkind present. When everything is topsy-turvy and round and round, they are an emotional anchor. Think of it as a private team of little cheerleaders who are always there to egg you on in the dance of life.
And the family drawings help to spin out tales of yore that may not have been described so pungently otherwise. Picture sitting around the fire one evening and someone notices an old portrait? Boom! The details pour forth. There you are, yanked straight back to that time Uncle Fred tried that break dancing move in the 1980s and the summer when everyone had absolutely nothing to eat but pancakes due to a cooking accident. And those stories are what bind families.
But instead of names on a list, envision the people who are no more. Portraits pay homage to them, bringing their communion into our own homes.” It is a way to protect the lives of others, granting their stories the chance to continue resonating in our life. So they never really left; smiles ring the halls, play on the walls, children younger than they might follow one day?.
Now let’s flip the page for a moment. Getting a family portrait physically created — done by either hiring an artist or creating your own — comes with its own unique byte of advantages. It’s a kind of mindfulness and artistic cultivation, a moment of quiet in the hurly-burly. Every line that gets laid down, every spot (just so) is an investment in our emotional health. Think of it as mental yoga, or the paint-and-sip affair, minus the sips.
And art should never be underestimated as a way to make a conversation happen. A guest seeing a family picture may wonder and be enveloped in the beauty of those beautiful faces in this format. The results are a reopening of dialogue, a place for longtime friends to bond in laughter again as well as provide a foundation from which to forge new connections with new people.
