Recent Pet + Portrait Commissions

I realize I actually don’t share many of the custom paintings or drawings I create for private clients (especially when they are surprise gifts!) so today I thought I would share a few recent pet and portrait commissions. Usually for family/couples/kids portraits I use pencil and white conte, but I do get asked to do the occasional oil portrait too. The one featured in this video was a unique challenge, but the client was thrilled and I felt accomplished making it work.

This first image is a chalk pastel drawing of Cooper, the puppers belonging to my long time client, Helen. He’s an active lil guy and pops up to say hi on her weekly blog as well as on our regular Zoom calls. So cute!

This second one was and oil painting I created for a Christmas gift and took a bit of skill to craft from two different photos, one being really old and one being modern and from a different angle. My client was thrilled that I was able to reunite her father with his late mother, which was a great feeling for me. You can see the challenges and process here.

This is a graphite (pencil) and white conte portrait of a couple I know from Hawai’i. Brittany commissioned this piece for their five year anniversary as a couple, and then Seth proposed soon after! How picture perfect is that?!?

Sweet Cassie made her way over the big rainbow bridge last year, but I am always humbled and honored to make memorial portraits of the most tender member of our family. These use both chalk pastel sticks for the larger blends and chalk pastel pencils for getting in the more refined details. My goal is always to pull as much personality out of pet portrait as possible, for their owners to celebrate and reminisce for all time.

If you have a family member (furry or otherwise) you’d like to commemorate, pop over to this page and tell me what’s one your mind. I’ll be happy to give you a no-obligation quote and help you think of the best way to capture their spirit forever :)

2.20.2022

A Super Special Holiday Commission

I know other peoples’ family portraits aren’t always the most exciting artwork to look at, which is part of the reason why I don’t share all of my commissions publicly, but this is one I’m especially proud of. Not only because of the meaningful concept, but because of the rough references I had to pull magic out of.

I was asked by my client to combine this photo of her grandma in an old photograph…

with this much more recent photo of her father, which was facing the wrong direction and with different lighting….yikes!

I really had to do my very best to blow up the image and pull out as many details as possible. Like these lovely blue eyes I didn’t even realize she had!

Here’s a little side-by-side comparison to see what I was able to get out of these images. I have turned down super out of focus image references in the past, simply explaining that I can only use what’s there so if the ‘info’ is not in the photo, then the painting surely won’t be able to make it up accurately.

I’m glad I didn’t have to turn down this one though, since my clients grandma is deceased and that’s the only photo she was able to get of her. Luckily the dad’s pic was much clearer and I was able to flip it and rework the shadows just a bit to match the grandmother’s light source.

And I even made a lil video of the process:

Well I will say it was definitely a challenge, but you know I kinda like those, so all was great in the end.

And most important of all my client loved it, she even told me it brought her own mama to tears. That definitely makes it all worth it:)

If you’re interested in a custom oil painting or pencil drawing of your family, feel free to drop me a message at caleigh@caleighbirdart.com

12.22.2021

Portrait Drawing Demo :: NB

Just a lil pencil portrait drawing demo today that I filmed at my old spot. Wish me luck on getting my new studio set up today! If you're curious about my Hawai'i homes check out these vids showing my past and present studios:)

Are you curious about the specific materials I use to draw? Check this one out.

5.10.2019

Custom Portrait Holiday Special

20% OFF Custom Holiday Portrait Drawing Commissions until Sunday Nov. 18

What can I say... I really love my Early Birds who like to plan out they're gifties well in advance so that some of the last minute-type folks (like me!) can still snag a custom portrait at the eleventh hour.

If you’d like more info on the commissioning process check out this lil write up here.

Holla at me for some portrait photo advice or go ahead and jump on my special website www.CustomFineArtPortraits.com and use the code HOLIDAY2018 for a fantastic price on these lovingly drawn portrait gifts 💜💚

PS Want to make sure you never miss a notice when my portraits are on special? Pop right over here!

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originally published November 13, 2018

Pencil Portrait Timelapse :: Octoplum

Today I have a pencil portrait drawing timelapse demo for you of one of my favorite active artists, Octoplum. She is a unique character both inside and out and creates the most incredible little body positive figurines, art dolls and drawings.

See Paloma's work here: https://www.instagram.com/octoplum

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originally published August 16, 2018

Choosing a Great Reference Photo

Howdy friends! Remember last week I shared the whole portrait commissioning/ drawing process video that I'd been working on for my custom portrait website? Well today I am sharing another piece of that easy commissioning process - 'Choosing a Great Reference Photo' - Yay!

The most important thing about having a custom piece of artwork created for a client is that the process should be super simple and really exciting for them so anything I can do to reach those goals is key!

So here's a little teaser of my fancy shmancy new step-by-step guide to choosing an excellent reference photo. Click the pic (or right here) to see all the details.

Keep reading....

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I would love any feedback on my site improvements! Does this speak to you in a clear, understandable, and friendly way? Any spots where you need to call the grammar police? ;)

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originally published April 1, 2018

Custom Portrait Drawing Process

Hi friends! I have been working super hard behind the scenes lately to polish up my custom portrait drawing website in order to make choosing a reference photo as well as commissioning a portrait as easy and uncomplicated as possible. 

It's important for me to learn how to be very clear so my clients get most of their questions answered right off the bat, instead of having to email back and forth to get the ball rolling. Don't get me wrong, I am always thrilled any time someone contacts me in reference to a portrait plus I actually prefer to help my clients choose the very best photo to use, but folks like to know exactly what to expect right off the bat. And who can blame them? I'm the same way so I don't like to make potential clients wait for an email response to have all the information they need when deciding to commission a piece from me. 

So enjoy this 2 minute video showing how fun and easy it is to get your very own custom portrait drawing - a gift that your recipient will love and admire for many years to come:)

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originally published March 28, 2018

Amazing Muse Connection + Doting Mama Appreciation

Wow! I cannot believe how lucky I am to be featured by two such amazing women this past week! Being shared as an artist is the most wonderful and helpful action that folks can take - and I especially love it when we as women can get together to create great art and build each other up too!

Farina, my last Bohemian Goddess, was such a pleasure to paint. Not only is she naturally gorgeous, I really loved painting the interesting shadows on her face and the lush green crown. If you've been seeing my newer paintings then you know this painting was a bit of a springboard for my recent works. 

As I mention on the 'Farina' painting page on my website (here),  she runs a really popular YouTube vlog and she has humbled me so much by including my artwork on a recent video! Wow!! I'm blown away! You can see her excitement while opening up her package of prints and a calendar - squee!! Thank you Farina for sharing my art with so many people! Check out that video here (Skip to minute 22:30 to jump right to the unboxing!):

And as if Farina's excitement wasn't enough... 

I also got to work with an especially sweet and thoughtful mom blogger who wrote a truly tender blog post about the pencil portrait I recently drew of her and her adorable son, Asher. How cute are the two of them together?!? Two peas in a pod for sure! :) 

Krista Happ of 'Happy As We Know It' is such an uplifting and gentle mama. Her posts are filled with love and light, and she writes very meaningfully about motherhood and finding one's place in the world. I am so honored to have my portrait be a part of Krista's tenderly written blog post last week. Thank you Krista for including me in such a wonderful message of love!! Read her post here:

'Because Love is Everyday'

(PS. Snag your own custom pencil portrait here!)

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originally published February 4, 2018

'Lil Man Portrait Drawing Demo

Just a short 'n simple timelapse demo drawing of this adorable little boy I created for a client out of pencil and conte. Enjoy! 

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originally published January 31, 2018

Press :: Miranda Southern Blog

Hi friends! I'm so fortunate when my art-making can coincide with a positive movement that can affect lives for the better. Last week I got to create a really meaningful portrait of a preemie and his mom, Miranda, who hadn't yet left the hospital.

Baby Hollis is a few months older now and happy and healthy, but I was so touched that this is the portrait his mama chose to memorialize. I feel like there is a tendency to photograph and share babies that need extra care a little less often, and I'm sure a lot has to do with moms who are scared and worried or who wish they "could have done more" during pregnancy.

To me this is a portrait of two lovely people who are lucky enough to have each other for the rest of their lives, and who will persevere to get through anything together. 

I'm so honored and humbled to be able to be a part of Miranda's meaningful message of love as she talks about November being Prematurity Awareness Month and her personal goal to bring more awareness and support of moms and babies going through this scary and trying time. 

Read up about Miranda and Hollis' early lives together in the the NICU as well as how much having such a special portrait created has meant in honoring their story:

Hand-sketched Portrait in Honor of Prematurity Awareness

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originally published November 11, 2017