A Client's Perspective: Fine Art Black and White
Last year, my husband and I celebrated 25 years of marriage. This, in and of itself, is a major milestone, but we looked around and quickly realized that it wasn’t the ONLY milestone our family was about to mark. In the fall our middle son would move to college for his freshman year, our oldest son would begin his last year, and our “baby girl” would start her senior year of high school. Change was happening so fast! Just around the corner for our kiddos lay dating and “serious” relationships, eventual marriages, and the addition of in-laws to our family of five. Hopefully following that, dare we say the word...grandchildren! And then we would be firmly fixed in that middle age of life, where we mourn the passing of one phase and are forced to adjust to a new one. This new chapter in our lives would be full of blessings for sure, and we looked forward to our family growing, but I just wanted to capture our family one last time as we were.
The original five.
Having long been a fan of both black and white photography and the charm of casual photos, I knew that I wanted a black and white family portrait created in a studio setting. The focus would be on the faces of our family and the love and affection we have for one another. It occurred to me that on my own I would be helpless to create anything beyond the ordinary with my phone camera and that I would need the artistic eye and skill of a professional portrait artist to make this portrait really special. And that’s where Heather came in. I’d worked in her studio for a few years and had always admired the Fine Art Black & White portraits she’d created for other families, not only for the emotion they captured but also for the way she took the portraits from the camera to their physical life on canvas. The portraits had what I can only describe as the smoothest, creamiest, most flawless visual “texture” I’d ever seen. These might be strange words to describe a portrait, but see for yourself and I bet you agree with me!
So, we commissioned Heather to create our special 25th Anniversary family portraits and my husband and I are so glad we did. She perfectly captured the sweet expressions of the kids and the love we have for them as parents. Every time I glance at the portraits on my walls, I’m aware of a grin that spreads slowly across my lips and my heart. Sometimes I find myself standing there, alone and in silence, at an “altar” that is just an ordinary living room, thanking God for the blessings He has given me: my Alan, my Daniel, my Nathan, and my Elizabeth. I’ve become keenly aware that the love we have for family and friends is the most priceless treasure we can own, and believe it is so very important to capture and commemorate this special love through portrait art. I’ll always be grateful we took the time to create these “last” family portraits together and thank Heather from the bottom of my heart for bringing them to life for us. They will always be the most meaningful of images to me.
-Sheila Lovelace
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