Commission a Portrait, getting ready for the Commission: Choosing a Group or Individual portraits for Family Commissions

One of the next decisions parents make when getting ready to commission portraits is whether to have their children painted together or separately. This is a very personal decision. A group portrait displays the bonds between the children and is endearing that respect. The children's relationships and personalities can be very evident.

The individual portrait is quieter by contrast and all eyes are on the individual.

The other aspect to this decision is how the painting will move through the family generations. Individual portraits can easily be passed on to the next generation.

One exciting option these days is that one can have a giclee made of the original painting and have that framed and given to the other siblings or all the siblings while the parents own the original.

I find that most families have a sense of what is best for their family and do not labor unduly over this decision.




Sonia Hale is an award-winning, nationally-collected artist in Boston. She paints commissioned portraits for families and institutions nationwide. Her original landscape and still life oil paintings can be purchased at http://www.soniahale.com. For more information, go to http://www.soniahale.com. You can reach her by email at soniahale1@gmail.com.