What a Fun Experience…

Natalie Seaman

Recently, I was trying to come up with a unique gift for my husband.  I had this idea of getting a portrait painted, not anything formal, something fun. I mentioned it to a friend, and she suggested that we reach out to Margaret Garcia, a prominent local artist and see if there was a possibility that she would paint our pictures. As background, Margaret is famous for her portrait blocks – that were most recently exhibited at LACMA.

We contacted Margaret and she said yes and the price was not out of our means; in fact her prices start at $300. I say this because a lot of people may think that this would be a wonderful treat – but think that it is way more than they could ever afford. We have amazing artists in our area and we have an opportunity to buy real, affordable art. And I urge everyone to do so!

We had a great experience with Margaret; the portrait experience required that one “sit” and interact with her; she wants to catch you live and catch your essence.  The end result is not a photo realist painting but something that you recognize is you and more. She uses amazing colors and the way she can relay a personality is a surprise.

Margaret is not the only artist that does portraits locally; many do – J Michael Walker has an on-going series underway of marvelous photos of women – and you can engage him to do your picture as part of his project.  There are lots of remarkable opportunities that result in living in NELA.