First corporate portrait

[Garth Herrick]

Linda,

Congratulations! You have a stunning and very successful portrait. It is very inspiring.

You have a masterful composition. I always feel that a generosity of space surrounding a strong figure can speak volumes about success and power, just as much as Mr. Paulson's commanding pose does. The two leaning trees add much to the compositional dynamics, and they compliment and anchor the trousers by their similar scale. There is also a subliminal quality in the composition that suggests a forward directional flow of movement from the left to the right.

There is much worth studying in this portrait. Thanks for sharing it.

Garth

[Linda Nelson]

Garth -

Thanks! I hadn't thought about the relationship of the trousers and tree trunks, but I can see that now. The interpretation I have regarding the trees, beyond him being a "strong oak" of a man, is that I find the other "oaks/men" bowing to the environment... whereas the man is standing upright and comfortably against the "pressure" on the trees. I see that as analogous to him as an independent thinker, who stays strong when the pressure can bend even the strongest of others.

At the the same time, those trees help the eye move right, which jives with the direction he's standing, so he looks more like a visionary and less an antagonist.

[Mike McCarty]

Linda,

Very nice portrait. You seem to have created a thriving business up there in Minnesota. Being a Dad myself I can appreciate what you have going with your Father. I'm sure he is doubly thrilled to see what his daughter is capable of producing, I know I would be.

[Linda Nelson]

Hi MIke,

I've got 3 more commissions to complete before I run out of work. It's been such a relief to have had enough to last me through the winter, but I will be crossing my fingers that this summer wil bring forth more good luck. In the meantime, look forward to doing a few figurative works for my self. I'm not one who can live calmly with nothing in the bank, so I've been very lucky to have that monkey off my back.

take care