A Picture Perfect Anniversary Portrait Painting

"The painting is just perfect. Jennifer was so easy to work with. I just love this work of art! I'll treasure it forever!"

Cheers to this loving couple who recently celebrated 37 years of marriage! This very special watercolor portrait commission was based on a reference photo taken right before a meaningful chapter in their lives together—but that's not exactly how it started out!

My portrait process is fairly straightforward but in this case, there was a little surprise twist! To begin, I was given no less than a dozen reference photos to review and consider. After a lot of discussion, we mutually decided on an image of the couple taken during the holidays wearing formal attire.

I began by hand-drawing a detailed sketch and, as always, I sent it to the client for approval before I began painting. Due to the delicate, unforgiving nature of ink and watercolor, changes can't be made once inking and painting begins. Luckily, 99% of clients approve their sketches right away and most others suggest only very minor revisions.

And here's where things got interesting!

The client was absolutely delighted with the sketch. No changes... except ONE. After a lot of thought, they changed their minds about the photo they wanted me to paint. They share a passion for boating and decided the painting should depict them in their everyday more casual, nautical attire.

Of course I want every client to be nothing less than thrilled with their art so there was only one thing to do—start over and create a new sketch! The client generously compensated me for creating the first sketch, apologized profusely (unnecessarily) for changing their minds about the photo and extended the timeframe for the project.

The final portrait painting ultimately turned out to be one of my personal favorites, and the clients were overjoyed with it! A picture perfect painting for this incredible couple!

To commission a custom watercolor painting, please visit JennyPaintsByHand.etsy.com