Commissioned Watercolor Portrait GIVEAWAY!!!! CLOSED.

Shortly after Lily was born, back when she'd fall asleep in her stroller in the middle of the day, I'd spend my weekend afternoons at Border's sipping coffee and perusing 'free' magazines. One of my favorites was 'New American Paintings'. I'd flip through their pages and long to commission an artist to paint my children. I'd always assumed that it was the sort of thing 'a person of means' would do and not a 26 year-old paying off her student loans.

For those of you readers who have shared my longing, I have a special surprise for you! Susannah Rodgers has agreed to host a giveaway for Grosgrain! Susannah is the oh-so-talented artist

behind Sitting Pretty Studios. She offers sweet custom watercolor portraits, block print cards and original paintings. The winner of this giveaway will receive a 9.5" x 11.5" custom watercolor portrait of your child or infant which has a value of $99.

Here is a little bit about the artist....

Susannah Rodgers
I have a new art studio that consumes most of my time and thoughts lately. I'm a mother three children who crawl and climb all over me while I create. I draw much inspiration from them for my art. When I'm not making art, I can be found hosting tea parties, making forts, or playing pirates on the studio floor. Welcome to my Sitting Pretty Studio world!

A few of my favorite things include printmaking, stickers, small books made by hand, memories, being barefoot, thunderstorms, anything green, buttons, receiving letters from dear friends, sending letters to dear friends, monograms, stationary & note cards, photographs, birds, new art supplies, middle eastern food, beads, curly hair, embracing your inner princess...and a soft cardigan.

Commissioning a portrait is a personal, often special decision, but can be a bit intimidating. I am very experienced in taking portrait commissions and I promise to answer any questions you may have and will help guide you through choosing a photograph to the best of my ability. Below are some answers to frequent questions I receive, but I know you will probably have some questions of your own, so please contact me.

As you can see in the photos, I paint head and shoulders. Please note that I do not paint backgrounds as I feel they take away from the subjects. I will most likely paint the background in a green wash, if you prefer a different color, please let me know.

I lightly sketch the subjects face in pencil and then paint your portrait with watercolors on acid free, archival watercolor paper.

I paint all my portraits from photographs e-mailed or snail-mailed to me( these will be returned to you). Please send up close, full face/shoulder shot in size 5x7 or 4x6.

The best photograph for a portrait is taken up-close and lit by natural light. Can you see the color of the eyes? If I can't see it, I can't paint it. Look for pictures where your child is relaxed and natural.
(No professional photographs, please!)

You can expect a 2-3 week waiting period while your portrait is being completed.

UPDATE!!!!!!! Last day for posts is Tuesday 11/25/08. Winner will be announced Thursday morning!

As usual, if you would like a chance to win this commissioned watercolor portrait just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.

Create a Link!