Pencil Them In: Commission a Portrait

So, I took this great photo of my geek men a few months ago- except it didn't turn out exactly as well as I'd hoped.

The low light caused digital noise that transformed a great family moment into a slightly impressionistic photograph. In an enlargement, the colors are mess and the lamp is ill-placed. Sure, some of this could be cured with Photoshop or Gimp, but with my limited talents it would still look very much photoshopped.

Enter Maggie (friend, mom, and talented artist). She's going to save this sweet image of my geek boys without digital assistance. Maggie draws well. This isn't entirely surprising as she has an art degree, but she has astounding talent.

Here is one of her pencil portraits and the photo it was drawn from:

I can't wait to see how the portrait of Jim and BabyGeek comes out! Grandma Luddite commissioned this drawing for my upcoming birthday. This is a cool gift for parents and grandparents- especially those who already have everything.

Maggie works from a studio in her home that she shares with her husband, illustrator and designer Jacob Elijah Walker. She accepts portrait commissions in addition to being an at home caregiver for her son (easily the most athletic child in BabyGeek's playgroup).

Maggie can be contacted through babytoolkit@gmail.com (I don't want her inbox to be attacked by spambots, so I'll forward all initial inquiries to her). For a pencil portrait of one person on 9 by 12 inch paper, it's $65 including US shipping and handling. It's $30 more for each additional person in the portrait. She needs a clear image file of a 4x6 photo at 300 dpi resolution (or larger) to work from.

This is a great way to save a moment that didn't translate well technically into a photography or a way to offer a unique and memorable gift.