About Us

Tom Maniaci Answers FAQ’s About Frame Your Face

Photo by Rachel Holland; www.rachalholland.com

Q: Is Frame Your Face a business, or an individual artist?

A: Yes. While it’s true that there’s only one of me, Frame Your Face only exists because some very wonderful people saw something in my art and wanted to show it and promote it. So together with those people, Frame Your Face was created as a commercial vehicle to promote and sell my portraits. I owe my partners a great deal. I wouldn’t be here without them.

Q: Why do you use only six colors? And why those six?

A: My color pallet is generally limited to black and white, red,
yellow, blue and “flesh” (which varies ,of course, depending on my subject). This is based on my desire to mimic the simple color pallet of comic books. I love good comic book art, and in fact drew a comic in college and for some years after. It was called “Space Punk”, and was heavily influenced by the “underground” comix (note spelling) of the 6O’s and 7O’s. Today, many comics are called  “graphic novels”, which is a reflection of the quality of both the writing and drawing. And by the way, there are exceptions to my color rule.  Check out the lips on Pam Anderson and Princess Diana.

Q: How long does it take you to do a portrait?

A: There are several factors that come into play here: how many quality pictures I have to work with, how complex the subject is (a beard? lots of long hair?) and how busy I am when a commission comes in. I will usually work one or two sessions on the rough sketch and one session on inking the contour line drawing. Then I scan the ink drawing into the computer. Now I can e-mail the drawing to the client for comments and changes. After the client signs off on the drawing I drop in the thought bubble, the text of the thought and the color. I'll then spend another session making final tweaks and adjustments. It adds up to several days, but those days sometimes are spread out over a couple of weeks because I'm working on many projects at the same time. And of course it takes time to get the final drawing printed and framed.

Q: What about one of those big canvases?

A: Well the initial process is the same. Then, if it's a print on canvas, it takes a few days to get the portrait printed and stretched. If it's a hand-painted acrylic, add a couple of weeks, at least. I have to prepare the canvas surface, transfer the drawing to the canvas, mix the paints...and I still haven't picked up a brush. To complete a Paint-By-Numbers canvas at a charity event takes about three hours or so, but that's with up to two or three people painting at the same time! Obviously, when I'm painting a portrait I'm slower and more meticulous.

Q: What if someone doesn't like their portrait?

A: Ouch. Well, that's why I show them the initial drawing. So they can make comments, suggestions, changes. I do everything I can to make them happy. That's the whole point. But I can't do round after round of changes. I don't have that kind of time, and sometimes it's just one of those things. That's happened. I couldn't get to a point where the client approved. So we just had to walk away, and of course, I didn't charge them anything. But I always do my best to please my clients and 99 times out of 100 I succeed.

Q: Do you ever have more than one person in a picture?

A: In the very beginning of Frame Your Face I didn't. My thinking was 

that these portraits were about a person – one person, one personality. 

But I started getting so many requests for couples portraits that I 

decided to give it a try. So I did a double portrait of Paris Hilton 

and Nicole Richie. The Simple Life was getting a lot of attention and 

so I just drew them together. And what-do-ya-know! - it actually worked 

for me. So now, yes, I will do a double portrait. The price is not 

quite double what two separate portraits would be, but close. You have 

to remember that the work involved in doing one double portrait is 

practically the same as it would be for two individuals.

Q: Speaking of price, is there sticker shock when people see the price 

of a portrait.

A: Generally no. I think people understand and appreciate the work 

involved. And most of our clients have purchased original art before 

and know what original art can go for. But because of my television 

appearances and newspaper articles and such, I do get a lot of 

inquiries from people who are not prepared for the price. They're 

disappointed if they feel they don't want to spend that much. I will 

say, I don't like to disappoint people, I want them to have their 

portrait. If it was to be a gift, I remind them that it's great gift 

even if it comes from a group of people. So if three or four or six 

people want to give a portrait as a group gift, the cost is not much 

for an individual.

Q: How do you come up with the words for the thought bubbles?

A: Well, if it's a commissioned portrait, the client usually knows just what they want to put there. But sometimes they ask me what to say. That always surprises me because, hey, they know the subject a lot better than I do! But in those cases I play a little 20 questions with them and by the end of that we usually come up with something. For historical characters I will either use a famous quote of theirs (check out Will Rogers) or I'll write a pun or a joke (look at Einstein or Freud). For contemporary subjects I'll often go on line and look at several sites dedicated to quotes by famous people. I couldn't write that Drew Barrymore quote. She really said that. Or I might paraphrase (sorry, Britney).

Q: Where can people go to really see your work, not just pictures on the internet?

A: They can come to my office in Southfield and see examples. And The Print Gallery www.everythingart.com in Southfield often has a few of my portraits on display. I've had a show there in the Spring the last two years, so watch for more of those. And if you're ever in Northern Michigan, please visit The Gaslight Gallery www.gaslightgallery.net  in Petoskey...they sell my work there. And then you can go to Chandlers for lunch or dinner because they have a couple hanging there!

Q: Do people compare your portraits to Andy Warhol or Roy
Lichtenstein?

A: Well, yes. And I’m uncomfortable with those comparisons. They
were pioneers. They were giants. Geniuses. But here’s the thing: I
can do what I do because of them. They made it okay to be brash, to be commercial, to be ironic, to present every day images – soup cans and comic books – in a different, modern, artistic context. To produce portraits that expressed a late 2Oth century sensibility. But they were making statements that I’m not making. The only statement I’m making is that we can look at ourselves with a little humor. But people see my big faces filling a canvas and think Warhol. They see the thought bubbles and think Lichtenstein. Okay, I get it. Those are useful descriptions to a small degree. I like it better when people refer to my portraits as “comic book-like”.