Ellis Family Oil Portrait Session

This Ellis Family Oil Portrait Session turned out beautifully. Kristine and Keith wanted a lasting memory to compliment Abby’s grandmother’s painting that now hangs in their living room. Recently Keith inherited several pieces of his family’s visual history in the form of paintings and photographs. At seven years old, this was the perfect time to bring Abby’s oil portrait to life. 

Kristine commissioned Christie, from Elizabeth Layne Heirloom, to make dresses for both girls. The attention to detail was outstanding. The dresses were perfect for Abby’s oil portrait and a few additional shots of her with her three-year-old sister, Katie. 

Abby was excited to be photographed in her new dress and Katie shared that enthusiasm. We choose to begin the session with a few full-length poses on our famous brick pathway. These shots included the girls together and each of them separately. We also allowed time for some candid shots of the girls dancing with each other.

Then we moved on to Abby by herself in a ¾-length posture that was similar to her grandmother’s. Our little white stone bench was the perfect height for her legs, allowing them to gently slope downward giving movement and balance to the lower part of the pose which Kristine and Keith ended up selecting for the oil painting. The rest of the images would be displayed in a Folio box that included their favorite poses. After selecting the perfect frame for Abby’s portrait, we saved a matching frame for Katie’s oil which will eventually hang beside Abby’s.

We had so much fun painting this oil, adding warm golden colors to the foliage and the highlights in her dress. The lace details and Abby’s long beautiful hair were highlighted with a touch of warm paint colors too to complete the color harmony of the overall portrait. This created the mood and feeling we had intended from the beginning.

The expression on Kristine’s face said it all when the family came back into the studio to see the final results. It filled Kristines’s heart with so much joy, for we had captured the exact expression and moment in time that she had envisioned.

Another perfect amazing oil painting was delivered and installed for a deserving and loving family. We can’t wait for Kaite’s session to see how we will complete the Ellis family’s girls’ record of life.