100 PORTRAITS IN 100 DAYS

WHAT: OK, here's the big project: Starting Jan 1, 2010, I will paint a portrait a day for 100 days. Whose portraits, you ask? That's where YOU come in. Anyone can email me, or mail me, a photo for consideration in the Portrait Project. By sending me a photo, you are giving me permission to paint the portrait and publish the completed painting along with the photo, on my blogs, my online gallery - Daily Painters.com, and on my website.

Each portrait will be painted on a 6x6 inch (15.2 x 15.2 cm) panel, in oil, and be available for sale for $65 plus $10 shipping/handling in the US, $20 international. If you wish to purchase a portrait, simply click on the Paypal button on my website.

WHEN: I will start collecting photos immediately and continue doing so during the duration of the project. I will choose which portraits I wish to paint, so sending me a photo does not GUARANTEE that it will be painted as a part of the project.

PRIVACY: I will only reveal the first name of the person, and each portrait will be given a number. So the first portrait will be, for example, "CAROL, 1/100", the second "JANE, 2/100" and so on. Your photo will NOT be returned.

PHOTO REQUIREMENTS: The photo you send should be from the shoulders up only. The photo should be taken by YOU, not a professional photographer. The best photos for portraits have strong light and shadow. A flash photo taken with you looking directly in the camera generally yields a flat image that is not as interesting to paint. No group photos, please.

I will not paint children less than 2 years of age, nor will I paint four-legged best friends. Oh, and please state your eye color, e.g., hazel, gray-green, dark blue, etc, because it's hard to see color in many photos.

WHY: Many of you have seen references on my blog to DSFDF. That stands for Different Strokes from Different Folks.blogspot.com. This is the fabulous Karin Jurick's blog where Karin posts a photo for anyone to paint and then posts it on her blog. Currently on DSFDF, she has participants painting portraits of fellow artists. This is a very fun project and I enjoy looking at all the portraits on that site.

A couple years ago, I did a mini version of this where I painted 12 portraits in Fauvist style. These twelve people are hanging on the wall in my bathroom and I enjoy looking at them every day - I'm used to these 12 people looking at me in the bathroom now, but at first it was a bit disconcerting.

STYLE: I will paint the portraits generally in a Fauvist style which involves using unusual colors and strong brushwork. Faces may be cropped for artistic effect. I may decide to give you a purple nose and a green forehead - I reserve the right to be wild and crazy. I will endeavor to achieve a likeness to the photo, but since I'm working from a single photo reference, I cannot guarantee the painting will be a perfect image.

OBLIGATION: You are under no obligation to purchase your portrait. This is not a commissioned portrait.

CONTACT: My email address is: carolnelsonfineart@comcast.net.
My studio address is: 13904 E. Radcliff Pl, Aurora, CO 80015

I think this has the potential to be a very fun project. Many daily painters have completed 100 paintings in 100 days, although I'm not aware of anyone doing strictly portraits as a project.
With your help, I will be able to create a sizable body of work and improve my skills as a portrait artist.