GIFTS & GIVING 27


COMMISSION A PORTRAIT


T


he idea of having a portrait painted of yourself can be a delicate one. Is it vanity or is it legacy? Either


way, it’s certainly a unique way of expressing your affection for someone by giving them something that will become part of their own creative legacy. De Rust-based artist Diane


McLean has painted portraits of everyone from former President Nelson Mandela to former First Lady Zanele Mbeki. But she’s not limited to boardroom portraits that require a degree of formality. Giving the gift of a portrait


requires a significant amount of patience, as commissioning the artist requires at least a three-month lead-time, says Diane. Ideally, the subject of her portrait will come to her studio for a photographic session and she’ll take up to 80 photographs over the period of an hour, which she’ll then use as a reference, particularly for capturing specific details like hands. If the subject can’t travel to her Karoo studio, she requires at least six photographs to be sent to her. The client helps choose the


mood of a portrait – the props, the background and the clothing. These are important elements, as a portrait must be something the recipient would want to hang in their home, as well as a good likeness of the subject. Diane says a private commission requires a lot more personal input than a boardroom one, in order to create the atmosphere the subject’s after. “There’s an incredible reverence for oil on canvas,” she says. “There’s something about a painting that has more of a presence than a photograph and it’s always interesting to see yourself through someone else’s eyes.” Tel: 082 297 6977. Visit: www.art.co.za/dianemclean


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101