August 7, 2007

Carleton’s Way

Amy Carleton Portraits

With fine art, the line between trashy and classy can be blurry.

Take that “artistic” portrait your ex painted after seeing Titanic. (Perv rendered your B-cups as buoyant life rafts.)

Make up for your failed maiden voyage with a portrait by Portland-based artist Amy Carleton, whose lush oil paintings of kids, pets, and people have a wise, dreamy feel.

Carleton works from photographs (no boring posing) and sticks to subjects who are tastefully clothed. Send her a pic, chat about composition and sizing, and she’ll do a preliminary sketch. Give her the green light, and you’ll receive the finished piece in a few weeks.

Portraits of Nana’s Lhasa apso or your sister’s firstborn would make lovely gifts, but seeing yourself as a breathtaking work of art would be much more fun. If anyone hints that it might be a tad narcissistic, tell them to shape up.

Or feel free to ship out.

To see artwork, go to amycarleton.com. For commissions, e-mail amycarleton@yahoo.com.