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Seeker of Truth

~ Credo in Unum Deum

Seeker of Truth

Category Archives: Painting Portfolio

I work as a commission artist and these are paintings from my own personal portfolio.

Gallery Feature: “Still-Life Portrait: Christine”

18 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Art & Artists, Painting Portfolio

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Art, artist, books, commission, commission art, flowers, Matryoshka dolls, Painting, portfolio, Portrait, soul, Still-life

Some people think that still-life paintings are boring.

I could not disagree more. They’re luscious and entrancing, filled with all sorts of interesting objects, hidden symbols and messages. They captivate the imagination in ways that other subjects of painting can’t, and I’m challenging this very outdated notion that still-life paintings are just a ticket to Snoozefest City. Continue reading →

Gallery Feature: Lenten Cross

02 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Art & Artists, Painting Portfolio

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

acrylic, Art, artist, Bible, Christ, christianity, commission, crucifixion, Gallery Feature, God, Jesus, Lenten Cross, Painting, portfolio, religion, Resurrection

I started working as an artist pretty much right out of high school. My ultimate dream was always to illustrate Bible symbolism, with “Have one of your paintings hanging in the Vatican” sitting prominently (and probably unattainably) at the very top of my Life’s Bucket List. In high school, I caught a bit of flack from teachers who thought there was too much religious emphasis in my work, but sometimes your heart is where it is, and the only question is are you going to embrace that passion or ignore it.

I chose to embrace it, even though I don’t get to embrace it as often or as fully as I’d like.

Years ago, I created what I considered to be my masterpiece; an enormous painting heavily laden with Bible symbolism which I chronicled in a multi-part blog series (the final part which I still have not written, good grief, Wendy, seriously) titled “Armageddon“. It was a true labor of love, if ever such a thing existed, and if you haven’t read my blog series about it, please feel free to pop over and enjoy.

Usually religious works are done just for me, with wildlife, nature scenes, and my personal creativity outlet, still-life portraits, building up the bulk of my commission jobs. But every once in a while, the opportunity to create a piece of religious art for someone springs up and I pounce on it.

The commission I just completed was a Lenten Cross. The client didn’t call it that, but after he described, “a cross with purple robe hanging over an arm”, I knew that he was talking about what is commonly referred to as a Lenten Cross. Continue reading →

Gallery Feature: Rainbow Trout

09 Saturday Mar 2019

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Painting Portfolio

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

acrylic, Art, artist, book illustration, fish, Gallery Feature, illustration, Painting, portfolio, Rainbow Trout, realism, wildlife

Growing up, I spent a lot of time down at the man-made dam behind my house — fishing. The creek here has always been filled with beautiful Speckled Trout. While I no longer care much for the act of fishing (or the act of even eating fish, tbh), some of my best memories are of my dad and I sitting down by the creek, fishing for trout.

My last commission was another in the series of wildlife paintings I’m producing for a client’s book. I had fully intended to blog about each one as I went along, but you may have noticed that the last Gallery Feature I did was the Pacific Tree Frog — exactly one year ago this month.

The lack of posting about my work, however, is not indicative of a lack of work, and 2018 will forever hold a special place in my heart as the year I had more commissions than I knew what to do with.

Happily, this year is also already commission-heavy, and the first piece of 2019 was a Rainbow Trout. Continue reading →

Commission Art: Curbing Creativity or Cultivating It?

24 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Art & Artists, From My Perspective, Painting Portfolio

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Art, artist, commission art, creativity, inspiration, Painting

Last week I read an article about commission art. The title was simply “Commissions”, but the topic immediately piqued my interest because, of course, I am a commission artist. While I typically don’t care for “How To”, “Improve This”, “What You Should Do”, “Pricing Your Work”, etc. type articles, there are rare occasions when someone actually does have something beneficial to say. So I clicked through.

The very first sentence immediately put me off.

“Many artists dislike doing commissions.”

“Ah, so that’s the direction this is going to go,” I thought. But thankfully, the author wasn’t on a crusade to bash commission art. He listed some positive reasons for accepting commissions, offered a few tips and advice on what to do/what not to do, as well as sharing his own personal criteria for creating this type of art. But there were certain things he said (things that are apparently common thought among many other artists too) which made me want to go on the defensive a little bit.

He explained that the main reason a lot of artists shy away from commissions is because the inspiration for the piece isn’t theirs — it’s the clients. He also posed the question: “Can you maintain your artistic freedom and integrity while doing a commission?”

Happily, his short answer was yes — but with a bunch of caveats. Some points were good, others I didn’t always agree with. Continue reading →

The Tell-Tale Pop!: My Custom Edgar Allan Poe Funko Figure

04 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by Wendy Brydge in From My Perspective, Painting Portfolio

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

#OOAK, custom, customize, DIY, doll repaint, Edgar Allan Poe, Funko, Funko Pop, toy

You might think that as someone who works in the art field, I should want to spend my free time taking a break from doing anything “creative”. But telling a creative person to stop being creative is like telling Dracula to stop drinking blood and meet you at Tim Hortons for an afternoon iced cappuccino.

It’s just im-Poe-sible.

Hmm, “Poe”? Poe? POE. What kind of a pun was that?

That, my frightful friends, was an Edgar Allan Poe pun, because he is the subject of today’s post.

When I’m not creating art for clients, I can still be found holed up in my studio, hunched over the desk, playing with paints, clay, pencils and too much glitter. The irony is that client art is not something I typically think of as being a “creative” process. It is, of course, but when you’re working for someone else, there are all sorts of constraints and rules, and when it comes to commission artists especially, your job is less about being creative, and more about bringing someone else’s vision to life. I love it, but it’s work. It’s not “fun” in the sense that you can play around and just try something for Creativity’s sake.

Regular Seeker of Truth readers will remember the custom Twilight Zone Funko Pop! figures I designed a few years ago.

Now that was fun. Designing these creepy critters was one thing. But customizing an actual Funko Pop! was something else entirely.

A number of years ago, I picked up a Pop! figure that I thought had potential to be transformed into a custom Rod Serling. I still have plans to do that, but when I saw this American Gods “Mr. Wednesday” Funko Pop! a few months back… I knew what was going to be my very first custom Funko Pop! figure.

Instantly, I imagined this figure with a dark suit, sad, melancholy eyebrows, and a lopsided mustache.

I saw Edgar Allan Poe.

Continue reading →

Gallery Feature: “Pacific Tree Frog”

01 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Painting Portfolio

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Art, commission, masking fluid, Pacific Tree Frog, Painting, wildlife artist, wildlife painting

There’s no better feeling for an artist than placing another commission piece in the “done” pile. And happily, that’s what I’ve just done.

More wildlife to feature today, this time in the guise of the Pacific Tree Frog.

As with most tree frogs, the Pacific Tree variety is very petite and cute. Measuring in at a whopping 3/4 to 2 inches long, they are one of the smallest amphibians on the North American West Coast.

Apart from its tiny stature, this tree frog has two distinctive features: a dark eye stripe (or as I like to call it, a bandit mask), and sticky rounded toe pads which help the frog grip and climb. Their toes have less webbing between them than some other frogs, which makes their toes look extra long. Continue reading →

Gallery Feature: “Seagull”

22 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Painting Portfolio

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Art, commission, Feathered Fauna, Painting, seagull, wildlife artist, wildlife painting

Who knew that there were so many different kinds of seagulls!

This is what I learned when a friend commissioned me to paint her one last fall. (Mentioned in the August post Gallery Feature: “Northern Leopard Frog”)

Someone says “seagull” and you think you know what they look like. But trust me, you don’t. Even seagulls of the same variety can look very, very different.

When I began this commission back in September, I did what any good artist would do — started stalking the local seagulls, of course. Driving slowly through parking lots, walking down by the beach, etc. And then just sitting and observing the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between birds. And you know something? I actually came away from this project with a new appreciation for these lovely creatures. Continue reading →

Gallery Feature: Feathered Fauna “Red-Breasted Nuthatch”

18 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Painting Portfolio

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

acrylic, Art, artist, Feathered Fauna, Painting, red-breasted nuthatch, Wendy Brydge, wildlife painting

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you know I’m a Northern girl. So when it comes to birds, I do see a good variety of breeds, but nothing too exotic.

The last Gallery Feature in my Feathered Fauna bird series was the Baltimore Oriole. They’re a beautiful, flashy bird, but alas, there are none in Northern Ontario.

So for my next painting, I decided to look a bit closer to home.

Enter the pint-size, pretentious pontiff of the Northern forest: The red-breasted nuthatch.

Continue reading →

Gallery Feature: “Northern Leopard Frog”

14 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Painting Portfolio

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Art, commission, Feathered Fauna, northern leopard frog, Painting, wildlife artist, wildlife painting

I’ve been a commission artist now for 12 years. Right out of high school, I jumped head-long into the art world, and haven’t looked back since.

When you make a career out of creating art that people ask for (as opposed to an artist who paints pieces and then offers them for sale — “if you see something you like, please buy it”), you try to be proficient in everything. You also have to learn how to anticipate, observe, and gather information.

Made-to-order paintings are both exciting and nerve-wracking. As the artist, I enjoy the surprise of each new commission (what will I be asked to paint this time?), but I also worry that the client won’t share in my vision for the finished piece. Even when clients say they don’t know what they want, that’s usually not the case. You may not even be aware that you already have an image in your head, but trust me, it’s there, and part of my job is to coax it out of you. Continue reading →

Fun in the Fifth Dimension: My Twilight Zone Funko Pop! Figure Designs

16 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by Wendy Brydge in Film, Literature & Commentary, From My Perspective, Painting Portfolio

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

classic television, design, Eye of the Beholder, Funko, Funko Pop, Rod Serling, sketches, The Howling Man, Time Enough at Last, Twilight Zone, vinyl figures

tz-funko-post-header

If you haven’t heard of Funko Pop! figures, then perhaps you’ve been living under a rock. The popular Funko brand has a variety of toy lines, but without question, the 3.75″ Funko Pop! vinyl figures are the company’s bread and butter.

They’ve been around since 2010, but in the last year or so, Funko Pop! vinyls have exploded in popularity, becoming to 2016 what Beanie Babies were to 1997.

Their stylized huge-head-on-a-tiny-body design isn’t for everyone. Even I wasn’t crazy about the look at first. But their mass appeal comes from one simple fact: No matter what you like in the world of popular culture, there’s probably a Funko figure for you to buy.

funko-collection

My small collection of Funkos… soon to be enlarged with Negan and the Hot Topic exclusive Belle with Birds!

Continue reading →

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"People hate the Truth. Luckily, the Truth doesn't care."
Wendy Brydge

Wendy Brydge

Commission Artist specializing in Bible Symbolism, Wildlife and Still-life painting. Writer, researcher, Seeker of Truth, finder of Truth. I was once told that there were only two men in my life: Jesus and Dracula. Shh! Now there's a third.

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“It will be found, in fact, that the ingenious are always fanciful, and the truly imaginative never otherwise than analytic.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe

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“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9

My Paintings

Wendy Brydge, "Lenten Cross", 2019
Wendy Brydge, “Lenten Cross”, 2019
Wendy Brydge, Rainbow Trout, 2019 Blog
Self-Portrait of the Artist at Twenty-Five
Wendy Brydge, Black Bullhead Catfish, 2018
Wendy Brydge, Megan and Tim Still-Life Portrait, 2018 (watermarked)
After much research -- not just photos, but also written descriptions of the frogs -- and discussing colour preferences with the client, this was how I chose to colour it.
After much research — not just photos, but also written descriptions of the frogs — and discussing colour preferences with the client, this was how I chose to colour it.
Wendy Brydge, Pacific Tree Frog, 2018 (blog)
Wendy Brydge, Rough-Skinned Newt, 2017 - Artist's Proof
Wendy Brydge, Seagull, October 22, 2017 Watermarked
Wendy Brydge, Red-Breasted Nuthatch3
Wendy Brydge, Northern Leopard Frog, 2017-blog
Twilight Zone Funko Pop! Designs
Oriole
The Bride
Messiah
Ladies of the Fifth Dimension
Still Life Portrait: Megan
Five in the Fifth
Cardinal
White Lady Slippers
Fallscape
The Flying Dutchman
Summerscape
Tour L' Eiffel
John the Baptist
Christian Heraldic Crest
Jesus Crucified
Chickadee and Maple Buds
Wood Duck
King
Jack & Pauline Brydge, 1947
Armageddon
Judgement

“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” ~ George Orwell

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“Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ~ Sylvia Plath

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"He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist." ~ Francis of Assisi

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"If you’re lucky, you have a best friend, or you have a lover. If you’re really lucky, you have both. If you’re blessed beyond belief, they’re the same person."

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

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"Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage mean we face our fears. We are able to say, "I have fallen, but I will get up." ~ Maya Angelou

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