WORKING FROM LIFE
I often do portraits from life--especially if the family is from this area (the Research Triangle Area in North Carolina) and plans to have their newborn delivered at Durham Regional Hospital or at the Duke University Medical Center. If you do live in this area call me as soon as the baby has arrived (hopefully at a reasonable hour), and I'll try to come to the hospital to do the charcoal baby portrait before your family is discharged. When I work from life, the baby portrait is usually finished that very same day and you get to take not only a baby home, but a charcoal baby portrait too. If I do I miss you at the hospital we can set up an appointment for you to bring your baby to my home. But it is essential that we set the appointment before the baby is two weeks old since older babies are often are too active to be drawn from life. If we miss the two week window, we'll have to work from your newborn photographs.
Also, on occasion, I will travel to other locations to do a charcoal baby portrait for a family in their home, at a birthing center, or at a hospital--but I do charge extra for travel & time. For more details please contact me by clicking on the above 'contact me' tab.

CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR CHARCOAL BABY PORTRAIT

Since you may not live near by, we will probably have to depend on your photos to do a charcoal portrait of your baby. Ahhh, but your photos are not great?! That is okay because together we can come up with a drawing you will like even if your photos are not the best. Although I do have limits as to what I can draw, for example: I cannot draw a frontal view of a baby using a photo that was taken of the baby’s profile—but I can work with you to combine a number of your photos to get the effect you want. Perhaps you are pleased with your infant's expression on one photo but not the part with his little fist covering his mouth.Or you may not want the baby portrait of your newborn to include the little knit cap that covers up most of his hair—in both cases you will need to send me additional photos that would show the features that are not in the main photo that I will be using.

SPECIAL BABIES, SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

And lastly, perhaps your newborn was a preemie and you have only photos of her in the intensive care with tubes attached here and there. Perhaps you don’t want that image to be your sole memory of those first few hard days/weeks of her life. Or maybe, sadly, your baby did not survive. As an artist I can work with your photos and with you to make a beautiful charcoal baby portrait; telling the story the way you want it to be told--without the tubes, the bandages, the bruises. . . .

ABOUT THE PAPER
When I do a portrait I always use a 10 x 11" piece of Arches Cover Stock--it is the finest archival paper I can buy. Arches Cover Stock is a mould made paper that had been made by a French company since the 1700s. It is 100% rag,that had been made by a French company since the 1700s. It is 100% rag, acid free and will last for hundreds of years if properly cared for--the same care you would give any fine piece of art work. It is a creamy colored, soft to the touch paper that has the thickness of a good water color paper. I've worked with it for almost 30 years now and I still love the the feel of it under my fingers as I coax an image from its surface using only a small stick of vine charcoal, a charcoal pencil and a kneaded eraser.

PRICES FOR A CHARCOAL BABY PORTRAIT

Charcoal Baby Portrait: $125
Shipping/handling costs: $6
Gift Certificate: $10
8 1/2’ x 11 Print: $5 each

Terms of agreement:

A portrait of a newborn baby (under 2 weeks old) is $125 plus $6 for shipping.
A down payment of $50 is required before the portrait is started.
The remaining $75 (plus $6 for shipping) is due upon the completion of the project.
An image of the final drawing will be sent to the customer by way of email (or regular mail if customer prefers) for the final approval--at which point the artist will expect the final payment.
Only when the payment is received will the finished drawing be sent to the customer.
Included in the package will be simple directions for the care and framing of the finished charcoal baby portrait.

KIND WORDS

I am often skeptical of photographs to help me remember what someone looked like--especially babies. After you drew the portrait of my daughter, I told my husband we would always know what she looked like at two weeks of age, as the portrait captured her so exactly. --Jenny Cox