Wedding Portrait Art

I recently was asked to produce a painting as a wedding gift. The painting was commissioned by the brother of the groom who, in his own words, could not get excited by the standard items on the wedding gift list. So, although his gift was a little late for the wedding itself, it was hopefully one of the more original presents that the bride and groom received.

The painting was based on one of the wedding photographer's photos. The original photo had more going on in the background, with guests excitedly watching the couple's first dance. However, I thought it would make for a nicer painting if the only focus was the newly married couple - as if they were the only people in the world for that one special moment. 

Consequently, I kept things simple and went for a black background with the spotlight on the couple's warm embrace.

To commission your own portrait painting as a wedding gift, please get in touch here or through artbylukebennett.com

Portrait of a Wedding

This recent pencil portrait was commissioned by a friend of the couple's children to celebrate their wedding day. Also as a loving tribute to the groom, who sadly was terminally ill at the time of the wedding. As such, it was quite an emotional piece to be involved in and I felt a weight of responsibility to do the photo and occasion justice. 

What I hope comes through is the happiness and affection from the day caught in the original photograph.

To commission a pencil portrait or to see more of my work, please visit artbylukebennett.com.

Summer's Here!

Oh wait, no, it's gone again. But boy was it nice whilst it lasted.

Yes, the sun made a timely appearance last week - just when weeks of seemingly nonstop rainfall were on the verge of breaking the spirit of many good men - bringing with it a proper taste of summer. Or at least the type of summer most of us long for in Britain.

Knowing deep down that there was no way it would last, I made the most of it, leaving my canvas and paintbrush inside and venturing out, camera in hand for lots of  long walks around the Warwick and Solihull countryside.

The following photos were taken in the footpaths of Berkswell Village, where the wheat fields were in full bloom. I took most of the shots between 8pm and 9pm when the sun was setting, using a tripod and some long exposures (some longer than others, with the aid of a built in ND filter). This has brought out the natural light really well, with some interesting colours and shadows.

I'm really happy with the way they've turned out. To see more of the set visit my Art By Luke Bennett Flickr page. As always, for more original artwork, fine art prints and photographs, or to commission a portrait or pet portrait, visit my website, artbylukebennett.com.

Welcome! Again.

Welcome to the new look Memoirs of a Visible man. As regular readers (I suspect I have a few) may have noticed, I've revamped the presentation of this blog, bringing it more in line with the look of my new website, visually, as well as the URL. Formerly known as lukusaurus.blogspot, it is now artbylukebennett.blogspot.

After weeks of hard work the website is now live. Please check it out- www.artbylukebennett.com
It's full of original, high quality artwork to buy, as well as fine art and photographic Giclée prints.

There's also a commissioning service where people can arrange to have a nice picture of themselves painted. Or their pet cat, or their dog, or their horse, or their pet crow, or their hamster, or their granny, or their baby, or their house, or their car.

Basically, anything legal, I'm willing to paint it. For money.