Do you have a favorite memory caught on camera? A special place you love to go? What about that amazing vacation and all the photos you can’t stop looking at? When I do commissions for realistic paintings, I will always ask for a photo from the client to go by. Sometimes I will use creative license and just use the photo as a guide. However, I love trying to recreate what I see in the photo and the take on the challenges that occur.

Below are some side by side photo to painting comparisons from my commissions.

“Rejoice”

My last Christmas present of the decade. This was my present to my dad and step-mom for their new house. There was an Instagram photo I took of him years ago in his favorite place to be, on his boat on Lake Eufaula. I have always loved that photo and my stepmom told me it was one of her favorites, too. When trying to decide what photos to hang in their new house she mentioned she wanted to have it enlarged…so I did.

“Kiss Good Luck”

Portrait of my youngest son and the original photo taken right before their halftime show began. They always kiss their hands and then rub the emblem on their bandmates shakos for good luck.

German Café

For this painting, my client had just built a house and was wanting something special for her new home. I remembered that she and her husband had recently visited Germany and I suggested that I could paint one of their favorite stops from that trip. On one of their excursions, they had discovered this quiet little café and said it was one of their favorite places. When I saw her photo of it, I knew this would be perfect. My goal while painting this was to capture every element of her photo and bring life to it. She loved it!

“Before the Show”

Auburn Shako original photo by Dawn South — AVAILABLE
“Before the Show” 20″ x 16″

“Four Corners”

This is a painting that I did of my son who is a trombone player in the Auburn Marching Band. I took the photo at one of the Four Corners Pep Rally in 2018. I loved the photo and loved all the reflections and energy in the photo. I knew this would be a challenge and loved every minute of painting this one.
Prints for this painting are available for purchase.

“Mardi Gras Portrait”

“Jemison”

This painting was inspired by one of the photos I took while running on the Jemison Nature Trail in Mountain Brook, Alabama. I love the yellow of the leaves and the contrast of the deep greens in the water.

“The Proposal”

“The Perfect Day”

This was the first Wedding Portrait I had painted. I painted it as a gift for my sweet friend and her husband. After seeing her wedding photos, I was struck with how gorgeous they were. I didn’t want to try and recreate the original photograph to the detail. My thinking was, why replicate the photo exactly? The photo was perfect as it was. Instead, I used the photo as inspiration to paint the all the feelings of the day as well. Her response to the painting has encouraged me to use this approach with all the wedding photos I have painted since.