I've been asked to do a lot of commissions lately, and I ponder how this work fits with the series of painting that I have been creating and showing for the last several years. Ultimately, I am hoping that my contemporary figurative paintings inspire the viewer to connect with the emotions contained in the brush strokes and rediscover the joy and wonder found in the everyday, so, by that definition, commissioned works fall into the same category. Here are some of my recent favorites:

(above) This contemporary impressionist portrait was created from a photo of a family vacation. I enlarges the waves, lightened the shadows on the face, and made sure the portraits conveyed a likeness while remaining in key with the contemporary, expressive style of the painting.

The father/son portrait was inspired by an iPhone photo taken during a hurricane. Mom noticed wanted to have this moment immortalized in paint.

I simplified the background and coordinated the clothing and background colors with the patron's home decor. I added some warmth and simplification to the flesh tones as the phone photos can cool down the lighting and overcomplicate the shadows.

My goal was to make it convey a likeness while being a good contemporary figurative painting; here's what the collector said:

I can't thank Warren Keating enough for this BEAUTIFUL painting. It all started with a photograph I took of my son on top of my husband's shoulders. I just fell in love with the photo, and I thought it would be a special gift to my husband to have it formalized in paint by a professional artist. I thought Warren Keating might be perfect for the job, and boy was he! He completely exceeded my expectations with this breathtaking piece. My husband was brought to tears when he received it. We'll cherish this painting, and we know one day our son will, too. Gifts don't get any better than that!

Check out the commissions page to get started on your commission

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