Hand-Painted Portrait of Oneself — Here’s My Story — You Can Have One Too!

1. "Portrait Of Jessica" by Gerry Chromoy (husband)

I thought I would tell you a personal story about my wanting to see a hand-painted portrait of myself when I grew up, what happened when I did, and the revelation I had. By the way, leave it to a portrait painter to have a half-dozen portraits of herself to talk about.... But first, let me say a few brief points that are special about this art form: A hand-painted portrait, whether painted or drawn, is created by an artist looking at the subject and/or several photos. While doing this, the artist gets to know the person and senses how best to portray their individual beauty and manner. It is a molding together of many, many, many instants of time. In contrast, photos are valued for capturing every slight expression of feature just as it was in one fleeting millisecond. But a hand-painted portrait actually represents a much larger segment of time.

My experience receiving hand painted portraits of me done by others

2. JPR at 16 months, an old painted photo

Since I was young, I wanted a hand-painted portrait. I wanted to see how someone else saw me. Growing up, I was glad to have the 11”x14” painted photo that my mother had had done of her little darling baby at 16 months in a christening gown. It has always made me smile every time I passed it and feel very special and loved. But I wanted something more.

A Disney artist made a caricature drawing that I threw into the first trash can I saw. It was on the way out of the artist's area 20 feet away from the point of purchase. Then an artist friend freely colored over a black and white photo with me making a cute exaggeration. I enjoyed looking at it and still

treasure it. Unfortunately, I put it in some hidden location “safe” keeping. Another artist friend drew a head pose of me that was over-idealized but I could definitely recognize it. I loved it too. Just to see the form that I was so used to "wearing" from a new perspective.

My Dream Is Full-Filled

3. "Jess" by Gerry Chromoy

Still wanting, however, to be formally painted, I finally made two self portraits in my 40s. One was an 8”x11” watercolor

(see picture #5) and the other a 30”x36” oil (see picture #6). I was finally satisfied that my childhood dream had been accomplished. But of course I had done them myself. Then my husband-artist made a surprise 24”x30” portrait of me closeup (see picture #4). Yay! That was a whole new viewpoint to experience! It didn't stop there! He made two more oil portraits of me, each 18”x24” where I am small in dominant backgrounds. (Pictures 1 and 3).

Though not compelling in size (thank goodness, actually), they have a great allure (for me at least)—I love being in paintings with his impressionistic style. And they bring back happy memories of outings we had in beautiful places.

By the way, I knew an excellent and successful artist who painted a couple of self portraits. Both seemed a little weird to me though. One of them especially had a comical smirk. I wondered why did he did that. Perhaps he was bored with the image he saw every day and created something in defiance?

5. Self-Portrait, watercolor

So why might a person enjoy a

hand-painted portrait of oneself?

My revelation...

I can only tell you from my point of view. For me, it was very rewarding to see how other artists saw me (as long as I liked it). I think that could be compared to the awareness that you get when you see a candid photo or a surprise video someone made of you. Of course, liking it is infinitely better than not, that’s for sure. The ones of me, even my own self-portraits, make me think that I am looking at my body but not trapped inside of it as is usual.

That seems sort of like a super-power, doesn't it! I haven't even mentioned how a hand-painted portrait is passed down the

Self-Portrait of Artist in oil

generations. One loves being able to see special moments of their ancestors aesthetically portrayed. You don't even have to be a relative to appreciate portraits (if beautiful) from the past.

Have you ever considered getting a hand- painted portrait painted of yourself (or a loved one who might enjoy it too)? Can you imagine that you might like to see it hanging on your wall?

Call/email me and let's get started today!

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