Inside the Studio: From Photo to Momento
THE STUDIO
Nicole Hanson
8/24/20264 min read
If your client's home is deeply meaningful, why not just frame a smartphone photo? Why interpret their home as art?
A photo is sufficient if you only want to preserve the facts. Snap a quick picture, frame it, and hang it in the hall.
But if you want to honor the season that home represents, if you want to capture the emotions and memories that come up when your clients see it, you must consider art. A watercolor house portrait invites people to study the piece, to notice details they’d missed, to smile when they see it and remember all that that home represents.
Choosing a watercolor house portrait as a gfit shows thoughtfulness, proves that you didn’t pick up a gift the night before, and shows you also care about this moment.
Every home has a story, and a house portrait preserves that story for those whose lives were built with the home as the background. This is why you want hand-crafted art, not a printed smartphone photo.
Once you’ve decided to hire me, place your order to reserve your spot. I only offer 14 house portraits each month.
The Keepsake House Portrait is an 8x10 painting matted to 11x14 with archival tabs, no-glare glass that protects the delicate art from UV ways, and is strung with wire for easy hanging, plus a QR code to a video of me creating the painting. Lastly, I include a ‘Welcome Home’ card, where you can write a personal note to the recipient. Read all the details here.
Once you’ve completed the purchase, my first step is to create the drawing, and I make many artistic decisions. I want the painting to feel like the home.
When looking at the photo or photos you’ve sent me, I consider everything surrounding the home. What are the trees like? The landscaping? The fences, yard, and neighbors’ houses? I decide how the foliage and the home best balance each other, and begin drawing.
I also look for opportunities to simplify, so that the focus doesn’t drift to the siding or the landscaping. I delicately balance simplifying the home and preserving the feel.
While drawing, I also consider what to remove. I won’t include things like trash cans, telephone wires, gutters, drain pipes, etc. I may adjust the exact placement of the landscaping to better fit the art, and find several ways to emphasise the important and meaningful areas.
Then, I begin the pen and paint step.
I use a waterproof pen, in either gray or black, to ink the house, add details, and add shading. When I begin painting over the pen work, it’s back to decision time and intense focus.
Watercolor has a mind of its own, and doesn’t always stay where the artist puts it. It likes to bleed, spread, flow, and bloom. Even so, it is my favorite medium!
I carefully add layers of watercolor. I add shadows to make the painting “pop,” and highlight where the sun hits. I pick a few windows to glow. Gradually, the house emerges.
When the painting meets my standards, I send you a photo. If something doesn’t look right, you tell me so, and I fix it. When you’re pleased with the painting, it’s time for it to leave my studio and head to your client!
I carefully package the framed painting in a box and ship it. I always include shipping insurance, so your gift is always covered.
Now, the home and an important part of its story are preserved, ripe to become an heirloom. Displayed art does more for people than a framed photo, since it has a different emotional appeal. And you've just given that to your clients, and they're bound to talk about it.
If you have a home you’d like painted as a closing gift, purchase a portrait today.
Otherwise, you may enjoy reading stories of meaningful homes I’ve painted.
Nicole Hanson Art
House Portraits
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SERVING ROCHESTER, MN, AND BEYOND
Nicole Hanson
P.O. Box 352
Stewartville, MN 55976
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