Blog

Blog Changes!

2010-04-25T20:46:00.001-07:00

We are in the process of transferring the blog to a new platform. While most readers shouldn't notice much of a difference, those of you who read this blog through an RSS reader (such as Google Reader or NetNewsWire) will need to resubscribe to the RSS feed on Wednesday after we have performed the blog updates. We will publish a new post when things are all done so you can be sure you are subscribed.

2010-04-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

What a great day we all had when I did the camera studies for this painting of Kendall Gath with her parents Donny and Kathy. I love how proud Kendall is in this painting. Although she is just a child, it's going to be fun to see her in the major competitions she's already aiming for.

Our Newest Brochure Arrives Tomorrow!

2010-04-12T14:27:00.001-07:00

All of us at the studio are excited about the new brochure that will be delivered to us this week. My approach to portraiture is always evolving, and I thought it was time to show some of the newest paintings and photographic images. Most of the portraits were made since we opened the new studio/gallery in Calabasas almost exactly a year ago. You can download the digital version of the brochure below, or if you would prefer a physical copy give us a call at 805.367.8100.

Download Brochure (PDF)

Our newest painting...

2010-04-01T17:22:00.001-07:00

I couldn't wait to post our newest painting of 5 year old Chelsea Darrow making a flower bouquet in a field by our studio. I love that we captured something that really shows who Chelsea is and what she really loves to do.

The Pompillo Family's Latest Portraits

2010-03-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

I love when I get to create portraits for the same family many times over. We first met the Pompillo family when I was a wedding photographer 25 years ago! Last week, we had a fantastic afternoon at the beach with the entire family. It was so much fun and as the sun set that afternoon, I knew they would have beautiful portraits from another important time in their life: Their oldest grandson is about to head back east on a baseball scholarship at Villanova. He will be the first one to leave the area in all this time!

Exhibit at Thermal

2010-03-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, we installed a beautiful exhibit at the Thermal Equestrian Show in Indio, California. It features several top equestrian riders, including Hannah Selleck, Ashlee Bond and Will Simpson. Seen in the paintings here are renown riders Joie Gaitlin and Michelle Parker.

We are raising money for the RideOn Charity, and these equestrian superstars graciously helped out. If you'd like to have a portrait of your family (whether or not you own a horse!), we'll donate your session fee to RideOn in your name.

Can't Wait for the Paint to Dry!

2010-02-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

We have just completed this portrait of Gary and Ferryn Melton's children, and can't wait for them to see it once the paint is completely dry. The Meltons have a beautiful collection of fine art paintings, and we're proud that this painting will soon be displayed in their home as well.

Weekend in a snow storm...

2010-02-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

What an incredible weekend it was in the Blue Ridge Mountains with some great friends. We encountered this scene on our drive back down the hill. It is so great to meet with this group of portrait painters every year. For reasons I still can't quite explain, we call ourselves the Barking Cats. Notice the bobcat we coaxed into posing with us for our group photograph.

On the cover of PPW Magazine!

2010-01-21T13:47:00.001-08:00

It was such an honor to have Steven and Peggy Roosa of Pro Photo West interview us a few months back. Not only did they feature us on the cover of the Winter 2010 issue, they also ran a 4 page article in the magazine. Thank you Steve and Peggy, and Bianca and Gianna who you can see in the image here.

I've Gotta Buy a Pair of Boots...

2010-01-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

I've had the incredible opportunity to create portraits of some of the world's top equestrian riders, including Ashley Bond, Will Simpson and Hannah Selleck, at some of the most beautiful stables I've even seen. I'm finding that the equestrian world is actually more of a way of life. There is a tremendous camaraderie among fun-loving, competitive people who don't mind getting their boots a little muddy from time to time. What an amazing experience this has been! And the paintings are going to be incredible.

Wow!

2010-01-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

As our young Internet Guru Elliott would say, we are jazzed at the response we've had to our painted portraits.

December brought us more painting orders than we could have ever hoped for! The paintings are actually made as a collaborative effort between April and me. I do the initial camera study, establishing the overall vision for the images, and April finishes them as paintings. Here's a sneak preview of a few we've completed recently.

Our clients help a cause we love!

2009-12-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

We decided that for the holidays this year, we would make a special offer for our clients to donate to Operation Christmas Child, and receive a free 5x7 or 8x10. We are amazed at the response we've received!
It's simple to participate. Click here to donate to Operation Christmas Child, then forward your email confirmation to aprilb@brandesportrait.com.

Mike and Doreen Jansen's Family Portrait....

2009-12-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

We did this portrait of the Jansen family just in time for the Wellness Community Holiday Home Tour that's happening this weekend. Wow, what generosity on Mike and Doreen's part! They gave over 500 people a chance to tour their beautiful home, which was all decked out (by Doreen) for the holidays.
April was at the Jansen home today, and she helped raise a lot of money when she sold every single one of our boxed gift certificates. Because they provide support to cancer patients and their families, Wellness is especially close to my heart. As many of you know, my own sister Marla lost her battle with ovarian cancer last year.
We'll be back at the tour tomorrow. Be sure to come say hi.

Giving Thanks...

2009-11-25T17:34:00.001-08:00

Best wishes to all our friends and clients for an especially meaningful Thanksgiving this year. We appreciate each one of you.

What Lindy Yow said about her portraits....

2009-11-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

When Lindy Yow came by the Costa Mesa gallery to pick up the portraits of her extended family, her first words were "They are perfect!" She was so excited to take them home for the holidays. Her parents were married 50 years ago in China after only knowing one another for one month. I loved seeing how all the children were so honoring to them. The portrait was the first of its kind ever created at the famous Huntington Library Chinese Gardens.

Natalie and Tatiana Slate

2009-10-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

What an honor it is to photograph clients repeatedly through the years.

It's so much fun to"grow up" with a family. Years ago, we had an amazing time creating a portrait of Natalie Slate and her family in Santa Barbara. Since then, we have created some of our most innovative images with Natalie. We did the one below when she was pregnant with her daughter, Tatiana...and that's obviously Tatiana in the portraits above. Natalie is a clothing visionary, and always brings me plenty of things to choose from. So when I saw the clothing she brought for Tatiana , I knew we'd have an opportunity to capture another very special image.

What's the story of your family that we should capture?

The Kenny Family

2009-10-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

We first photographed Michael and Alison Kenney in 2005. You can imagine how happy we were to create a painting of their beautiful daughters Reagan and Shannon. When they picked up their painting yesterday, we knew they were happy, but then Michael called April this morning and said, "we didn't want to go to bed last night because we just couldn't stop looking at the painting. We are just ecstatic." That made our day.

The Rogers Family

2009-09-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

I especially enjoyed getting to know Michael and Kristin Rogers this summer when we did these portraits of their family at the Montage Beach. The Rogers are such generous donors to the CHOC Foundation, so it was wonderful for me to create portraits that had such a sense of joy. There were so many great moments that day and I was really excited to be able to catch many of them. You can tell by all of these images that I love working with extended families like them.

See our Paintings at the Shops in Mission Viejo

2009-09-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

For a limited time, our new Masterpiece portraits will be featured at the Shops at Mission Viejo in Orange County. It's always a tremendous pleasure for me to have a public exhibition like this one. This is the first exhibit that is entirely comprised of our new paintings, so I'm especially excited.

It's a lot of fun for our clients to see their portraits on display where they can show them off to their friends. I'm especially grateful to Arcelia LaRue and her family, as well as Tidi Lambert (and her daughters), Marie Startz, Darla McCutheon, The Muir family and The Inuoye sisters, whose portraits are featured in the exhibit.

Desirae

2009-08-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, April and I hosted a small pizza party at our house. We met a lot of interesting people, particularly Desirae, who graciously posed for us in the front doorway of the studio.

We were drawn to have Desirae model for us because of the texture of her clothing, hair and accessories. This was so enjoyable for me because it lets me create portraits that are a little different from many of the more formal ones that I do. April made this little painting from my camera study. I love how people we don't even know are up for the adventure of letting me find ways to tell something about them from my unique vantage point.

April

"Absolutely Stunning..."

2009-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Michael Thompson is a fellow member of the International Society of Portrait Artists. We love to email each other with our most recent images. You can imagine how great it felt when he said that this portrait of Maria Startz's girls was "absolutely stunning." That was high praise from someone who I really respect. I have to admit that it was pretty incredible to work with such great sisters who were totally into the experience. Even as I was creating the portrait, I could tell that it was going to be quite special.

Now THAT was fun!

2009-07-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had the incredible experience of making these portraits in the Chinese Gardens at the Huntington Library. Lindy Yow and her family were celebrating their parent's 50th wedding anniversary, and they went to great length to make sure their portraits were amazing. Lindy even had Chinese gowns custom made for the portrait. Theirs was the first formal Chinese portrait to ever have been created at the gardens, so it was quite an honor for me.

The Inouye Sisters

2009-06-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

I've always dreamed of having a north light studio. So you can imagine how inspired I've been these last couple of months at our new location!
I'm grateful to Kaili and Kaydee for being such great models in this recent painted portrait we created.

As Good as It Gets

2009-05-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

It is always a pleasure to give back to the people who have helped to make our studio successful through the years. I have an especially soft spot for helping kids, and have had lots of opportunities to get involved. I love helping out great charities like Our Lady of Fatima Parish School. You can only imagine how I felt when I received this letter from Molly, who is one of their young students. They netted over $70,000 in profit from their March 21st auction.

Sabrina and Samantha Parker

2009-05-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first portrait we created indoors at the new studio. I am finding that the natural light and wood floors in the main gallery are incredible for portraiture. This painting is of Sabrina and Samantha, the two daughters of Ron and Sherry Parker. We all had an amazing experience creating their portraits. I could not be happier.