Please paint my dead mother

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Boothby

. . . Suddenly friends and family all want me to do a portrait painting.

It's great to be in demand! Make the most of it, and profit from your popularity either monetarily, or via opportunities for gaining valuable experience.

Originally Posted by Madelaine Boothby

. . . talk to me about "artistic license?" When you paint a portrait, do you flatter the person? do you nakedly show their double chin and signs of age?

There are no "rules". From time immemorial, portraits have run the gamut from visual character assassination to shameless flattery. Much depends upon your relationship with the client, and what they expect. To be true to one's self artistically, it is no more "true" or "virtuous" to be deadly accurate in accentuating negative aspects of the sitter's presence than it is to make them "prettier" than they are in fact. A painted portrait is always a statement by the artist, and should convey something more of the sitter's persona than the mere superficial patterns of light and color which form a likeness . . . as snapshots do.

Originally Posted by Madelaine Boothby

. . . .I have begged people to NOT give me flash photos, but that is generally what they have. And in the case of the dead mother, there aren't that many photos to choose from . . .

You are the artist, you get to control the situation. You can politely defer working from bad snapshots, and suggest a series of life-sittings under your control, or take your own photographs for reference, where you have control of form-lighting. There is a recent thread here on posthumous portraits you may find instructive.

Originally Posted by Madelaine Boothby

. . . And what about makeup? So many women think they look their best with . . . . colored lips and eyeshadow . . .

Again, you may exert control over this as a condition of taking a commission. Sometimes, flattery is effective . . (. e.g., "Your eyes and natural color are most beautiful without makeup. Please allow me the pleasure of painting you without your "painting" yourself first.") Problems with makeup is a question of degree. I've had sitters who wore so much makeup I couldn't even properly see the shape of their eyes. A little lip gloss, a touch of rouge or powder, a hint of mascara tastefully applied is usually not a problem.