Watercolor House Portraits

At first, I started creating house portraits as a way to keep my skills up to date. Architecture always peaked my interest and as an artist I like to practice drawing in perspective as much as possible . It wasn’t until my family was selling my childhood home that our realtor requested a commission and got me started painting houses as part of my career! Today I work with realtors, home owners and business owners painting all kinds of buildings and landscapes.

Scroll down to learn more about my process!

HOW IT WORKS

All I require from you to get started on your custom painting is a reference image, a due date and your desired painting size. The two most popular sizes I offer are 8”x10” and 11”x14”, but I can make accommodations for paintings smaller or larger than that if needed.

I ask that you give me at least a 2 week working period as the amount of custom commissions I have each week varies. If you need your painting to be completed sooner than a 2 week period, I charge a $30 rush fee to push your commission to the front of the line.

To get a quote for your custom house portrait, shoot me a message via the contact tab so we can discuss your project in more details!

image resolution

The quality of your reference image is extremely important!

Images with low resolution or taken on a phone make it extremely difficult to see the details of a home and therefore effects the quality of your end result. For that reason I cannot accept reference images that are blurry or too grainy. If you cannot tell if the house is made of brick of covered in siding, then I won’t be able to either!

If you are unsure of the resolution of your image or if you cannot obtain a high resolution photo, send me a message on the contact page. I’m happy to give you a free consultation and we can talk about options for your commission.

a great reference leads to a great painting!

Image angle and lighting

The angle that your image is shot at is very important.

Photos that are shot straight on can make the image look a little bit flat. The best images are at a slight angle so you can see the perspective of the home or building.

The best time to take a photo is early in the morning or late afternoon. The stronger light at these times of day make for a higher contrast image and therefore makes for a more striking final result!

If you are unable to take an image of your building that is high resolution and fits the guidelines, you may also request that I take a photo of the house myself! (Provided that your home or building is within 5-10 miles of Midland, Michigan)

The better the reference, the better the painting!