Kate’s Frequently Asked Portrait Questions

1)      Does my child/pet have to hold a pose for long?

Answer: Not at all!  I will work off of photographs.  If I am able to meet the subject in person, I will bring along my camera and snap a few pictures for reference.  I am a professional photographer as well and have a few tricks up my sleeve to get good shots out of even the wiggliest of subjects. 

2)      Can you make me an extra print of my portrait?

Answer: Absolutely.  I always make a digital image of every portrait I draw or paint.  This allows me to have a high quality giclee printer reproduce your portrait on archival watercolor paper.  The giclee printing process is so advanced that the reproduction is almost identical to the original.  8x10 prints are $40 and 11x14’s are $55.  They come matted just like your original and make great gifts.

3)      Did you go to art school?

Answer: No, I am self-taught aside from art classes I took in high school.  I would love to take some additional courses in the future. I do spend a lot of time on art blogs and watching documentaries and tutorials to improve my creativity and technique.   As long as I live I want to keep learning about art.

4)      How can I get a good photograph to you if I’m not in your area?

Answer: Read my blog for tips on getting great pictures of the subject and email them to me! Click HERE for pet photography tips and HERE for people portrait photography tips.  Generally speaking, the best pictures are taken outdoors in the shade or at least close to a window with lots of natural light.  Please email me the largest picture file size that you can, do not condense or make it smaller.  Smaller file sizes mean less detail and poor quality.  

5)      How long does it take you to draw a portrait?   

Answer: This depends on the subject, size, medium and my creativity level and mood.  I invest a minimum of 3 to 6 hours in most portraits.  It takes a tremendous amount of time to draw in the tiny details that I like to add to make each portrait as realistic as possible.  It also takes patience to go slow, but you can’t erase charcoal or pastels so I take my time to get it right!  Turnaround time from when you provide me with acceptable photos to draw to completion of your portrait varies with my current workload but is generally one or two weeks.