My customer spent his childhood in this elegant home with many fond memories of life there with his parents and brothers. Due to unfortunate circumstances, the family had to sell the house over forty years ago. The house still exists so I was able to take many photographs of the exterior and my client sent me many pictures of the interior taken when he lived there.
He wanted me to recreate what the home looked like fifty years ago. The columned porch had been filled in to make more rooms and the landscaping and flowers was recreated from the old photographs.
A composer friend and music teacher was very interested in a painting where many tools of her trade could be portrayed in an interesting arrangement. These items usually resided in her closet, but with a painting, she could enjoy and reminisce.
She had a good idea of what she wanted me to include in the painting, but as the painting progressed, things did change. For instance, what originally was a recorder, is now a clarinet...a much more interesting instrument. The sheet music is from two of her composition books and the decorative vase she added for some color and personal interest.
"The Red Brick House"
8 x 11
My client has lived in this house his entire adult life and worked with the architect when it was built. He wanted a pencil rendering of what the house would look like from a view across the street, like an architectural rendering. The house is on a hill, so all my photographs were for reference only. I worked entirely from the architect's plans to construct the house brick by brick, window by window. I had to pay special attention to the porch, the entryway and the gates on either side of the house.
I used a variety of pencils and shading techniques to achieve the various values and textures. The drawing was done on acid-free Strathmore drawing paper.
"The Murphy House"
24 x 36
This couple loved their house and had spent a lot of time and energy remodeling it so it was perfect for them and their children. They were exceedingly proud of it and wanted me to paint it so they could always remember it from this particular time.
I had to pay particular attention to the cupola on the garage, the driveway pavers, the lightpost, the wreath on the door. and the shrubbery. Even though they didn't want any clutter, I painted one of the windows open so it looked like someone lived there.
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Last updated: 10/15/11
Email: barbara@barbaranuss.com
