Meet Temi, portrait artist in Hamilton, Ontario
I make portraits on purpose.
I create maternity, women’s and family portraits for people who want to give the people and relationships they value a lasting place in their home.
My work begins with observation. How you hold yourself. The way your child turns towards you.
A familiar expression that appears when you have stopped thinking about the camera.
Those details inform the portrait. So do the light, wardrobe, composition and the way the finished work will be presented
Your presence shapes the portrait.
Some people arrive with a clear idea. Others know only that they want a portrait of themselves, their mother or their family together.
Both are a place to begin.
I ask questions, listen and help give the idea a visual direction. During your sitting, I guide you through posture, expression and movement. You have space to settle in while I attend to the decisions behind the image.
Beauty is in the decisions.
A slight turn towards the light. A quieter background. The relationship between two people within the frame.
I care about these decisions because they change how a portrait feels. The work should have presence without losing the individuality of the people in it.
The same care continues through retouching and artwork design. Skin texture, dimension, expression and tonal detail matter, particularly when an image becomes a substantial printed work
Created for the life around it.
We consider where your portrait will live and how you want to experience it. A principal work on the wall, a collection of smaller portraits or an album that gathers the sitting together.
The finished artwork is part of the commission from the beginning
Tell me who you want to see in the frame.
Yourself. Your children. The people whose presence has shaped your life.
We can begin with that.