Custom Antique Reproduction Silhouette by Kolene Spicher

Silhouette of a Lady with

relatives from 

Denmark

From Denmark to America, this piece of art
tells the story of where this lady's ancestors came from
as well as the day she married.  

I started this project day one by creating a wonderfully crackled and antiqued background to paint upon.  Special consideration was taken to accommodate the lettering across the bottom.  It needed to be smooth enough to write the genealogy out yet  antiqued enough to match the rest of the painting. 

I loved this frame.  The painting was sized to fit it perfectly.  The condition is great.  Finally, the look is correct for the home that 

this piece was made for.  

MY Customer likes nautical and wanted the dress to also be nautical in nature.  Finding reference material for this had its challenges!  My inspiration came from antique silhouettes from the 1800s.  

I love house this looks hanging over the bench my foyer. 

You can sort of see the texture that I achieved by looking at the above lower right picture.  The customer also wanted the flag of Denmark flying on a ship in the background.  I also have the American flag flying on the ship to the right.  Pictorially, this suggests a story of coming to America.   It is also what we are all about here in the USA,  we were ONCE  all little seedlings. 

I love the corner blocks on this frame and the drape across the top of the painting.  I am known for including decorative drapes in my pieces.  

Here is my lady! 

Here is her likeness 1800s style!  

LOOK at the writing, you can see the genealogy,  and you will notice that her GRANDPARENTS were from Denmark.  It is a special gift to have someone illustrate how one's family came to the great melting pot!  I was happy to do this. 

Thank you for taking the time to look at this piece of artwork.  The painting will be a Christmas gift. 

Enjoy. 

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Original Whaling Scene, Maine, Post 3

The Whale from Curtis Light 

Thanks for looking at this blog entry.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you are interested in your water scene being illustrated! 

This post is going to represent several days worth of work.  I think it's better than dragging it out.  

The color is starting to be added a little at a time. 

I like to paint around things instead of painting from the back of the painting to the front.  I feel that the image pops more using that method.

In this picture, you can see how the grass has a warmer feel.  

After the painting was about finished, I added the script.  Often times, I write little sayings in the grass or sky or water.  This painting was no exception.

The colors are not correct in this picture, however, look at the guy falling off the ship into the water! 

In the original painting (where you will see below),  the colors are not as 'antiqued' and the water is not as red/blue.  However, I wanted to show you the writing in the water.  In case you cannot read my writing, it says THE WHALE FROM CURTIS LIGHT.

WRITING HERE READS,
SHE GUARDS PENOBSCOT BAY 

I love the little guy up on the tower.  I read that this light can be seen for 6 nautical miles.  I think that is very cool.

On this page you can clearly see the folky bricks as well as my signature.  

The red really pops on this painting.  I like it.  The customer may want it toned down.  We shall see!

The colors are about correct in this shot

I always like to show what I am working on along side one that I have laying around.  I do this so that you can clearly see how this painting will blend with any piece of my original artwork that you might own.  I really enjoyed painting this one!  I think you can tell! 

Here is the painting in its entirety BEFORE antiqued...  

The question for me is this.  Should I antique this more? 

I welcome input! 

So ***today, November 4, 2016, I decided that the sky was too washed out.  I brightened it up a bit.  That doesn't mean that I won't go back and tone it down some, but here are a few changes. 

See the difference?  It makes the lighthouse stand out instead of blend in! 

Again, the ship stands out from the sky being darkened in the background 

I think this is done... 

Enjoy :) 

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Original Whaling Scene, Maine Post 2

Starting To Add Some Color! 

A likeness of Curtis Light 

There are many lighthouses in Maine.  This painting is centered around Curtis Light which is just outside Camden Harbor.  This painting is not meant to be 

an exact copy but rather a gently likeness.  

My customer loves whaling and ships.  Like many of my paintings, this is a fictional rendition of a time back in the mid 19th century.  

I started to draw and realized that I didn't want the painting to have pea sized buildings so I went BIG with the scale.  You can sort of get an idea of HOW big in the picture below. 

The buildings are larger than I had drawn out on my thumbnail sketches, but I felt it was necessary.     I think it makes for better composition, especially when viewing from any distance. 

This could be a painting just as it is featured in the above cropped version.  However, it is just a snippet of  a larger piece.  Tomorrow, if I have time, I want to show you some more 

pictures of what I have completed.  If I don't post tomorrow, it will be Monday! 

As I paint, I will add layer upon layer until the oversized folky bricks sort of disappear and are not as obvious.  This is the very start of the painting.  

Tune back in for more... maybe tomorrow!

Enjoy! 

What a view! 

Thanks for looking today and spending a little of your day imagining what life might have been like back in the 1840s...

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