Inspiration.
For years I've wanted to create family portraits in studio that were more dramatic, more intriguing, more like a piece one would encounter in an art gallery. Introducing Bistro Art Portraits. These remarkable pieces draw on inspiration from classical painting, cinematic tension and the best of photographic art.
How it all began.
It all started with my children. Every year, for over a quarter of century, I have photographed our children in a variety of scenes and styles (e.g. at the beach, surrounded by peaches, tangled in Christmas lights, trapped inside a snow-globe, etc.). As they've grown older, they have become more cooperative, more willing to experiment, even more appreciative of their quirky father. Four years ago, when everyone was in town for Christmas, I was itching to up the ante. I wanted to create something iconic, painterly, and with unrelenting cinematic tension. The first piece shown below is the result of that session. It is sort of a Last Supper meets the Sopranos. It was a hit. My family loved it. We printed it quite large and put it on display in our studio.
It seems we were not the only ones who noticed. Before long, one of our clients inquired about that unusual art portrait up in the loft (you see, we had not named the style yet.) They asked if I could create something like that for them. I was flattered and frightened. Who knew if this style would hold up? Not everything artistic can be replicated. Sometimes a replica is recipe for disaster. Fortunately for them (and me), their results were equally strong. They loved it.
Tinkering, tinkering.
Since then we have been tinkering with the style, the concept and the range of what makes one of our signature Bistro Art Portraits. As you can see from the samples below, not only does the family at the dinner table work well, so too does a musical motif, pool cues, games of chance and more. Some are painted, some are black and white, all are dramatic. Enjoy.