Commission Realistic, Fine Art Oil Portraits of Children, Family and Pets from Photo ~ Custom Oil Portrait Artist Jessica Rockwell

Oil Portraits from Photos

Jessica Priscilla Rockwell grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and trained in the Fine Arts in undergraduate and graduate study programs and beyond. Her family was well known in Savannah and her famous cousin from New England, the world-renowned artist Norman Rockwell, was Miss Rockwell's inspiration. During her training, Miss Rockwell found that painting portraits was her forte and she takes a deep joy in capturing the real spirit of her sitters. The artist creates oil portraits from photos and in most cases more than one photograph is used as a reference for the Rockwell Portraits.

Miss Rockwell has made her home in Clearwater, Florida since 1999 where she has had two successful one-woman exhibitions and built a large studio to display her work. The artist is an affiliated member of the American Society of Portrait Artists and career awards include an art scholarship from the Georgia Governor's Honors Program and a "Best of Show" from the Beverly Hills Art in the Garden Affaire. Most of the Rockwell Portraits are of children or of clients' pets and neither of these particular sitters could be expected to sit for very long repeated periods. Miss Rockwell develops her oil portraits from photos merely for reference purposes; at no stage are the Rockwell Portraits produced by painting over photographs or by using a device to project the image of the sitter onto a canvas.

Miss Rockwell utilizes the finest archival canvases which are primed with quality archival material, following in the footsteps of and employing the traditional techniques of the Old Masters. A picture is initially drawn on to the canvas before the process of applying many layers of paint. This is followed by the process of carefully adding paint to create a beautiful likeness of the subject. The care and skill used in this process means that oil portraits from photos can sometimes take several months to reach fruition. At times, special arrangements can be agreed upon if a commission is urgent.

Usually, a subject will come to the studio in Tampa Bay for a first meeting and initial sketches. This meeting and others will assist Miss Rockwell to discover the true essence of the sitter which she will then endeavor to capture for yet another of her Rockwell Portraits. All the portraits require a photo shoot to acquire reference material. If for some reason sitters cannot be present at the studio then Miss Rockwell can, together with her photographer husband, Gerry Chromoy, fly out to the client. At times, due to certain personal circumstances, commissions can be discussed by telephone and photographs mailed for the development of a beautiful oil portrait from photographs.

The Rockwell Portraits are much admired and appreciated by all clients who have managed to acquire one of these beautiful pieces of art. The startling likenesses of the subjects are remarked upon again and again as is the fact that the artist has most definitely caught the true essence of the sitter. These unique oil portraits from photos are already admired and treasured by many families and are set to become the heirlooms of the future.

Please visit her website at: www.rockwellportraits.com.