These family portraits are created in the places where your life is actually lived—along the shoreline, in the water, or within the environments where your family feels most at home.
Rather than formal poses, the work captures natural interaction, movement, and connection. The goal is not simply likeness, but presence—the feeling of being together in a moment that is both real and lasting.
Each painting is developed through a collaborative process, resulting in a composition that feels both authentic and timeless.
This work has been recognized with Best of Rhode Island honors, reflecting a commitment to creating portraits that families return to for years, not only as images, but as lived memory.
Sample Actual Portrait Commission - 18" x 24" - Oil on Canvas
~ client testimonial
Sample Actual Portrait Commission - 16" x 20" - Oil on Canvas
~ client testimonial
Sample Actual Portrait Commission - 36" x 48" - Oil on Canvas
~ client testimonial
Thank you for your interest in commissioning a portrait of your family. Family Portraits have become a specialty of sorts, and recently I was awarded "Best of Rhode Island" for this work. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I would add to that, a good portrait, one of the most demanding and rewarding of paintings, is worth a thousand pictures.
It is an honor to be creating work that will be passed down from generation to generation, capturing not only the members of a family, but their interaction in places they love. I look forward to speaking with you about your family's portrait..
Sincerely, David Schock

Commissioning a portrait is usually found to be an enjoyable process by all.
The sitting process involves getting together and my creating reference images, which may include sketches and usually photos (this is almost always the case with portraits of children). Then one or two small composition studies will be done and sent to the client within a few weeks, giving the idea for the composition for the painting.
After approval of this sketch by the client, work begins on the final painting. This usually will be completed within three to six months of the initial sitting.
Payment is 1/2 at the initial sitting, and 1/2 at completion of the portrait (delivery).
Your input into the process is welcome. I have never had a commission where those closest to the subjects of the painting did not have valuable suggestions about the portrait. Your input is welcome as part of a collaborative effort, with your happiness with the final work as our shared goal.
Some of the paintings we have created for families.





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Schock Gallery ~ David Waterman Schock
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