Gloria Pinsker Portraits
Custom Portrait Paintings from Photos
Hand-painted Pet Portraits, Horse Portraits,
Children’s Portraits, Women’s Portraits, Men’s Portraits
Would you like me to create a custom portrait painting from a photo for you?
Here are the steps to make it as easy as possible:
- TAKE A LOOK AT MY ARTWORK,if you haven’t already. There you will see examples of artwork of different subjects in various materials, and also the sizes of the portraits shown.
- CHECK OUT MY SIZES & OPTIONS PAGE to see what you might like or what might fit into your budget.
- CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO(S) that you would like me to take a look at. I can then let you know if it is suitable for a portrait. You may send more than one photo. Several photos often can be combined to create your portrait, as long as they are all clear, in focus, and have similar lighting. After I see your pictures, I can give you my input and suggestions. If you have a lot of photos and are uncertain which ones are appropriate, I can arrange for an in-home consultation to look over the photos and advise on which one(s) would be suitable.*
- If you haven’t taken your photos yet, please see the section below on “What Makes a Good Reference Photo” and the examples of suitable reference photos. If you don’t have suitable photos and are unsure about how to take them, I can travel to your location and take the photos myself, provided you are within my service area of Montgomery County, PA, Bucks County, PA and some areas of New Jersey.*
- *There is a charge of $25.00 for this in-home service, which is credited back to the price of your portrait once you place your order. Until further notice, I will travel to vaccinated households only.
- CONTACT ME TO DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONS, for instance, do you want color or monochrome (black-and-white), and what materials you want me to use to create your portrait (oil, acrylic, pastel, pencil, charcoal). Once all of this is decided upon, I will email you a no-obligation price quote and let you know approximately when I would be able to start your portrait (depending on any orders ahead of yours). Please be realistic about completion times! Quality artwork takes time to create. Because of the various steps involved in completing a quality custom portrait, turnaround time varies from the time I begin the artwork to shipment/delivery. When you contact me about your custom portrait, I can let you know approximately how long it will take.
- Once you decide to order, I will send you a CUSTOM PORTRAIT AGREEMENT.
- APPROVE & RETURN YOUR CUSTOM PORTRAIT AGREEMENT, ALONG WITH YOUR 30% DEPOSIT TO HOLD YOUR PLACE ON MY WAITING LIST. No work is started on your portrait until deposit is received. Once work has begun, your deposit is non-refundable.
- FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF YOUR CUSTOM PORTRAIT: Most people find this very exciting, so if you like, I will send you photos of your portrait in progress. If, however, you’d rather be surprised after it is completed, that’s fine, too. Just let me know your preference.
- FINAL APPROVAL: When your portrait is nearly complete, I will send you a photo of it for your final approval or adjustments. Once approved, I will send you an invoice for the balance due prior to shipment.
- SHIPMENT OR DELIVERY: Once payment is received, your portrait is carefully packed and shipped with tracking and insurance. I will then invoice you for the shipping charge (usually between $10-25 for USPS Priority Mail or UPS). If you are within my service area, I may be able to hand-deliver your portrait at no charge.
- CHRISTMAS/HANUKKAH:I can take only a limited number of holiday orders, so please order early if you need the portrait as a Christmas or Hanukkah gift. HOLIDAY ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY SEPTEMBER 15th.
- DON’T HAVE TIME TO HAVE A CUSTOM PORTRAIT MADE FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION? CONSIDER A GIFT VOUCHER! Contact me for details
EXAMPLES OF GOOD REFERENCE PHOTOS(
*What makes a good reference photo?
Your photos must be clear and in focus, and taken without a flash! PLEASE DO NOT SEND LINKS TO FACEBOOK PHOTOS, unless you have the original photos. Facebook pictures are of very low resolution and too fuzzy and pixellated to make good reference material.
- At least one — and preferably several — of the photos must be a clear, well-lit close-up of the face, with the eyes clearly visible. The eyes are the “soul” of the portrait — if they are not clear, the portrait will not be successful. For digital photos, the resolution must be high enough to provide a good print, as I work from both a print and digital image(s) on a tablet. Set your phone camera or digital camera to the highest resolution available.
- NEVER USE A FLASH! Avoid sunlight/artificial light directly overhead. It will cast unattractive shadows on the face. If you are taking photos outdoors, place the subject in the shade or take the photos in early morning or late afternoon. Indoors, do not place the subject under an overhead light fixture. It’s best to place the subject next to a window with the light coming from the side or at a 3/4 angle to the head.
- Take the photo at the subject’s eye level. If you are photographing a small animal or child, get down nearer to its level, or place it on a chair or other higher surface. Never photograph a small child or animal from too far above — they will appear out of proportion, with a large head and tiny body!
- Please see below for more tips and some examples. If you are going to be taking the photos yourself, you can email me to request my free PDF “Photographing People & Animals for a Portrait.” If you already have photos (i.e., for a Memorial or Vintage Portrait), choose the best and clearest.
An excellent photo (cropped), taken by Zephyr’s “Dad.” Since this was a memorial portrait painted after Zephyr passed on, having a good, clear photo was essential for me to get a good likeness, since I had never seen him. I was actually given a few photos to work with, but based most of the rendering on this one. We decided to portray Zephyr without the snow on his nose, as it would have been confusing, because the portrait was done in “vignette” style, on toned paper with a plain background, so the snow would have been out-of-context in the portrait. This is an example of a simple change that can be made to an otherwise excellent reference photo taken by the client.
Even though this photo is taken in bright sunlight, the light is coming from the side, and because the little boy is wearing a hat, the shadows give lovely definition to the face. Note that the photo is clear, close-up, in focus, taken at the subject’s eye level (or very slightly below), with the eyes clearly visible. Note also that the child is not “posed,” but was caught at just the right moment. The background is confusing, but that doesn’t matter, because I can create a different background for your portrait.
When photographing children, follow them around with your camera and wait for them to assume a natural, attractive and characteristic pose on their own. Charming portraits can be made of children doing activities such as reading a well-loved book, playing with a favorite toy, or intently listening to or watching something. Consider also photographing your child in a way that reflects their particular interests — i.e., dressed in ballet costume, with a musical instrument or sports uniform and/or equipment.
A beautiful, clear head shot of a horse with good lighting. Note that the camera was far enough away so that the horse’s head is not distorted to appear disproportionately large. The 3/4 head angle is an ideal one for horses, as it shows one eye very clearly and part of the opposite eye.
The perfect reference photo for a double portrait of a woman and her dog! The lighting is great, the photo is clear and in focus, the pose is good. This was one of the rare instances when I didn’t have to change very much when I painted the portrait, not even the background!
This portrait (shown in progress) was a commission done from several photos. I used the photo shown for the head, as it was a good, clear likeness. The body and toy were taken from other photos. I put him in an outdoor setting.
As the client lived nearby, I took this reference photo of AZ myself (in pre-pandemic days), one of many I took that day. Although I based the pose and background on this photo, many of the other photos I had taken were also useful as reference. AZ also was a dog I had previously trained, so I was very familiar with his personality. In the portrait, I gave the background a much simpler, impressionistic treatment, to keep the focus on AZ himself.
This is an example of an excellent, clear head shot. All the information needed to portray this commissioned portrait of Maggie was there in the photo. I knew Maggie well, as I had trained her. This is a “vignette” style on toned paper with no added background. (Please excuse the glare in the upper corner of the painting).
This is one of my favorite photos of my own dog, a black Standard Poodle named Finn. I did a pastel painting from this photo, taken outdoors and clearly showing his face and the wonderful, characteristic expression in his eyes. Although it is taken slightly above Finn’s eye level, it is not so high as to distort his body too much.
It’s best to follow a pet around with the camera and wait for a good opportunity. If your dog is trained to sit and stay, that often helps, as it did in this case — but work fast, as pets won’t stay still for long (especially out in the yard when they want to play)! 🙂
This is an example of a “vintage portrait” reference photo. Because it is a professional studio photograph, it is clear and well-lighted. A vintage portrait can be done in monochrome (black & white), three-color (black, white and another color, usually red), or full color. If you want full color, it is necessary to supply as much information about the person’s coloring as you can — hair, eyes, complexion – or also supply a photo of someone with similar coloring to use as reference.
Although this was taken by a professional photographer, because it is close to 100 years old, it is not possible to obtain a written release from the photographer. But due to the age of the photo, copyright infringement is not usually an issue, unless the photographer was famous.
