I am Michelle Frances.... it is that simple.

I have been thinking long and hard lately about changing my business name and I have finally made a decision. I already have one. My name is Michelle Frances. Warhol was Andy Warhol, Michelangelo was Michelangelo etc. etc.... Why do I need a different name. My hang up was the 'Murals' tag so I am going to just drop it. I will change my website to michellefrancesstudio or gallerymichellefrances and I will create a new facebook page that is similar. I will need new cards etc. but that is relatively simple if all I'm doing is dropping a word.

You all know me by my name and by removing it from my marketing material I am cheapening my product. I would use Michelle Frances if I were approaching a gallery or a client interested in commissioning a painting so why should it be different if I am approaching a client about decorative painting work. Ultimately all my work should be gallery quality and that is what I want my marketing material to say (albeit subtly).

I will clearly need to speak with my web savvy friends to find out how much I will hurt myself (in web searches) by eliminating the word 'murals' from my web address but where I loose some clients I hope to gain others.

I'm not sure why this decision has taken so long. The answer was so obvious. I will just have to let my web analyst friends tell me how to turn Michelle Frances into a successful web presence. There is a reason that 'michellefrances' domain names aren't taken... I am the only Michelle Frances. 'Wall Whimsy' was taken by someone I would hope to never be confused with, Google searches for 'Treatments' are flooded with cosmetic surgery ads (don't get me started on how 'not me' cosmetic surgery is), 'The Wall Artisan' was better but would have needed a huge tag line before you could get 'Michelle Frances' worked in.

This business name dilemma came up when friend who was helping me with marketing stuff asked me who I am as an artist... I need to promote my best self. If what makes me unique is my mural work market that, if what makes me unique is my ability to reproduce master works market that etc etc. Trouble is that my most marketable quality is my range of abilities. How do you market that without confusing yourself thoroughly in the process? So, back to the drawing board. What makes me marketable is my wide range but what do I love? What do I want to be doing in ten years? Big landscape murals?... no. I enjoy murals but they don't inspire me like canvases do and they aren't as much fun as painting polka dots on kid's walls. Scattered trees and pachyderms peaking out from behind bookcases are fun for me; 15 foot murals of the African savanna, not so much. I am good at those murals and if someone wants me to paint one I am, of course, happy to do it but that is not where I want to focus my marketing efforts (thank you Brian for helping me figure this out). I was more inspired by the face of a Weimaraner and a blank canvas recently than I have been by anything else in a long while... so, I am going to go with that.

I was at a yoga retreat last month and learned a great deal about a great many things. One of the most profound discoveries I made was that I need only be concerned with how I see myself and the rest of the world will follow. I was not thinking in terms of business marketing but the principle holds true... it is just a bit harder to manifest when your livelihood hangs in the balance. If I think first about what I need, what inspires me, what feeds my soul then, eventually, others will see that same me and appreciate it. I had been skipping a step. I was trying to define myself by what would be most marketable. Pure Silliness!

I am simply me. I am an artist and a darn good one. And, I was given a great name so I am going to stick with it.

* This was typed between the hours of 3 and 5am so please forgive my poor grammar and scattered thoughts.

** Thank you Aruni and Brian H. (aka Coach Fancy Pants)... seriously Brian, you have a future as a life coach ;)

*** A miller moth just landed on my keyboard... telling me that the sun is rising and I need to get my head back in bed before I have to wake up in an hour or two. Good night and good morning.

Master Reproductions... of a sort

Remember a while back when I did Isabel's portrait super imposed onto Vermeer's 'The Girl with the Pearl Earing'? Well I did portraits of her siblings as well in styles to mirror their personalities. I painted Addison as a Renoir and Paul in the style of Leroy Neiman.

Pet Portraits

Otis

I have been wanting to try my hand at pet portraits for many years now. I finally prodded myself into doing it by having a contest on my facebook page. I had so many entries that I had to split them into categories (small dog, large dog and cat).

I am so pleased with how they all turned out. Painting them inspired me like nothing else has for a while. I love my work (all of it from murals to stenciling to custom canvases) but I felt that I could put a lot more of myself into these paintings. I didn't have to work 'with' anyone on these... they are completely my own. Obviously the photographs aren't mine but from there I could just play. I didn't have to make sure that they would match the couch. I didn't have to worry how they would look on a particular colored wall. I didn't even have much of a sense of the style of painting that the owners preferred.

I painted in the style I am most comfortable with and with colors that I thought would best highlight both the animal's coat and their personality.

I believe that the results speak for themselves. I hope that I will have the opportunity to do many, many more of these

Fantasia Kitty

Fern

Isabel with a Pearl Earing

These are photos of my latest portrait. I am doing portraits of all three children in this family. The first girl, Addison, I painted as Renoir's 'Girl with Watering Can', the boy's portrait is next on the easel and this is the older sister, Isabel, for whom this Vermeer's 'Girl with Pearl Earing' was the perfect choice. Getting the shadow right was a huge challenge as was using acrylics since this painting was originally done in oils... mixed by the master himself. However, I am not trying to fool anyone. As long as I get the mood and general technique right so that it is obvious what work I am 'copying' I am satisfied. With this portrait I am more than satisfied. I love it as does the client. I think it turned out beautifully!

Ben and Julie.. with a touch of green

This was the final portrait which I did for Christmas. The painting is of a friend's brother and his girlfriend. I think that it is the strongest of the paintings which I spent December doing and I believe that to be a direct result of 'team work'. Britta, the above mentioned friend, came over when I was almost finished with the painting and we spent an hour (at least) 'fixing' things. She has an amazing eye and was able to spot things/ imperfections which I didn't. And I, thankfully, and able to add a bit of blush to a cheek, darken very light eyes or add a bit more shadow to a nasal labial fold without killing the whole painting (much harder than it sounds).

So, for future projects I hope to inlist her help... just to iron out the final little 'wrinkles'.
Of course it always helps to have stunning people to paint!

Holiday Portraits!

My first portraits in many years...
And I think that they turned out very well.

I am starting this blog for a number of reasons... as an online portfolio, as a way for clients to see and proof the paintings before I actually clean my pallet and, finally, as a tool.
When I just uploaded all these images I noticed something which had eluded me up until now. Sometimes it takes seeing the original photos and images of the painting in a similar scale right next to each other. The younger girl in the second painting... her mouth doesn't seem quite right to me... I have painted and repainted the lips, the cheeks... only now I realise that her teeth are too wide... there should be more negative space between the corner of the mouth and where the teeth end.
Fortunately this painting is still on the easel so... back to my paints... for now.

There... that took me about 30 seconds to fix once I found the problem... after looking for three hours.