A Confession of Love and Proposal for Marriage through Fine Art

Will you marry me? That is the question that will be proposed when this painting is shown (along with a ring) to the surprise recipient – my client’s girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancee.

The idea was born 6 years ago, before he had met his girlfriend, when he was envisioning and dreaming of someone that would be his “saving angel” from his distressed past.

This vision is reflected in the painting – a reach to the sky and toward the one he loves, while breaking free from a tormenting connection to trouble, depicted through a chained connection to a representation of the devil.

Witnessing the moment are the bride-to-be’s sister, brother, mother and father, as well as the groom-to-be’s step-father, mother, sister, brother-in-law, and father.

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Custom Painting – Oil on Canvas – 3 ft. x 5 ft.

I can’t believe this painting is now completed! I remember meeting my client a few months ago to talk about the idea and coming up with the initial sketches. It was definitely a challenge to align proportionally everyone in the painting, but the end result turned out beautifully.

Family Portrait Painting Progression

After much work sketching, measuring and aligning, I’ve got three of four family members onto the canvas and ready to paint!

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This portrait painting is unique in that because it’s a surprise, we had to gather photos of the four family members and put them together to appear as if they had posed together. For the wife and husband, it was easy because we already had a good photo of them together. But for the children, we didn’t have a good recent photo of them with their parents.

So what’d we do? We logged into the Mom’s Facebook account and searched for good photos of her children on their profiles! I found a couple that I thought would work great, so I’ve put my math brain to work in aligning them all together and adjusting the images on the photos to enlarge proportionally onto the canvas.

The deadline for this one is Christmas, so lot’s of work left to do!

 

Sneak peak at Mobile Hope murals

Here are some sneak peak shots of the first of four extra-large canvas paintings to go in the Mobile Hope donation center opening in the Village at Leesburg. Stay tuned for the unveiling of all four in late April!

Public Art – Mobile Hope murals in Village at Leesburg

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I’m painting 4 of these babies in the next 4-5 weeks. I’m armed with new brushes and plenty of paint! Their future home will be in the windows of the Mobile Hope donation center, for public display on Village Market Blvd., in the Village at Leesburg.

The Mobile Hope donation center will be accepting food, clothes, blankets and other personal items to help at-risk and precariously housed youth in Loudoun County.

http://www.inova.org/inova-in-the-community/index/mobilehealth/mobile-hope/index

Dolphin Bliss painting

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"Dolphin Bliss" original oil painting on canvas - 11" by 14"

Here it is! This is the the oil painting I completed today of two dolphins jumping out of the water. As I mentioned in my last blog post, this was inspired by trips to Palm Harbor, Florida (Pinellas County) growing up. As we’d cross the bay from Tampa into Clearwater, I’d keep my eye out for the occasional dolphins springing up gracefully out of the water.

For those of you that have swam with dolphins, how is it? I’ve never done this, but today my wife informed me she wants to swim with dolphins! Would you recommend it?

Spanish bullfighting painting

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Spanish bullfighting painting - 6" by 6" acrylic on artist panel

This Spanish Bullfight painting measures 6″ by 6″ and has a 1/8″ cradle.  I used acrylic paint on an Ampersand artist panel that comes ready to hang, or alternatively can be framed just like a traditional canvas.

Prints of this painting can be purchased through my online store here - http://dave-white-paintings.myshopify.com/collections/global-culture-painting/products/spanish-bullfight

I’ve been painting quite a bit lately on panels instead of canvas.  I like the look of it.  I like the wood with the straight edges and a quality painting surface on top.  I’m going to keep painting on canvas as well, but I like having the option to use panels as part of my repertoire.

Anyone else traveled to Spain?  Do you have a favorite city or town?  I think mine are Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla and Nerja.

Why I Like Spain

Spain -

  • The first country I traveled abroad to (other than crossing the borders into Canada and Mexico).  

    • When I was a senior in high school, our Spanish class took a group trip to Spain and traveled to Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Córdoba, Granada, Sevilla and Málaga.  I fell in love with the architecture, the food, the music, the beaches, and the girls (I was 18).
  • Where I met my wife.

    • I went back to Spain two years later to study abroad in Sevilla.  This is when I really fell in love with Spain and the province of Andalucía.  I was there for 3 1/2 months but it seemed like 2 years (in a good way).  I met my wife there, who was studying abroad in the same program but coming from a different university (George Mason).  We traveled together to Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Nerja, Maro, Cádiz, Ibiza, Formentera and Morocco.  We went to soccer games, flamenco performances, Semana Santa (Holy Week), Las Ferias de Abril (April festivals), ate lunches by the Guadalquivir river, frequented cafes inside narrow streets, strolled through beautiful city parks…   If this sounds nice, know that I”m not the only one I know who fell in love in Spain!
  • Where I went on my honeymoon

    • Five and a half years later I went back again, this time for my honeymoon!  We had a layover in Madrid, left the airport and went to Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and stopped at a café for bocadillos and coffee.  Then we headed to our destination of Ibiza, an island known for parties, but known to us for it’s calm and beauty.

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  • Where I draw inspiration for artwork

    • I could probably spend a few years making paintings based solely on the cultural influences of Spain.  The other night, I was listening to Niña Pastori, a Spanish singer with a very flamenco-like voice, drinking some Spanish wine, and decided to paint something that is Spanish-influenced.  So I went to our photo albums from studying abroad and saw a cool photo my wife took at a bullfighting event in Sevilla.  A few hours later and I have myself a nice little painting that I’ll reveal tomorrow!