John Keats probably wasn't referring specifically to house portraits when he wrote, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever," but the sentiment fits. Local homeowners who commission a portrait of their home take great pleasure in owning a timeless treasure. For each, selecting an artist whose style fit their taste was the most important decision.

Taylorville artist Robert Johnson paints 30 or so portraits a year of small, modest homes, grand mansions and everything in between, but they are nearly always winter scenes. The crystal clear, detailed rendering set in winter is his favorite style. So even if he photographs a house on a sunny, summer day, the finished result will be a house in a "pristine snow, on a cold day, peaceful and quiet."

"You might think a painting of a white house in the snow looks like a polar bear in a snowstorm," Johnson says, "but it looks great, because of the shadows you create. Bright snow shows more contrast and makes a snappy, dramatic painting.

"I really like dark skies," he says. "The darker the sky, the prettier the house looks."

Steve and Robin Taft of Rochester met Johnson in his booth at the annual Lincoln Balloon Festival. "We wanted a picture of the way we decorate at Christmas, and all of his scenes and places were in winter. We thought, 'this is where we need to be,' " Robin recalls.

As it turns out, Johnson and his wife Janet already were familiar with the house. "We'd always wanted to paint that house," Janet says of the tall, white, pillared two-story that features a red sled on the porch at Christmas each year.

That year, the Tafts put up all the decorations except the Christmas tree that Thanksgiving weekend and were ready for Johnson to come and take pictures the following Monday. When Johnson delivered the painting two weeks later, Robin was thrilled to see that, although she'd forgotten to mention that they wanted a tree in the doorway of the painting, Johnson had imagined it there himself and included it. "It just needed something," he'd said, and it was just what the Tafts had in mind.

There wasn't a single snowflake the day Johnson took pictures but, Robin says, "That is exactly what it looks like, an old traditional house, almost like a Christmas card. Very calming."

Johnson prices paintings by size and amount of detail. Sizes are 11 by 15 inches, 15 by 22 inches, and 22 by 30 inches, and generally start at about $300 for a finished, framed and matted painting. He offers four choices of frames, and mattes that complement his color palette. Delivery may be in a few weeks or a few months, depending on the time of year.

Johnson is clear about his style, which helps in making the decision to commission his work. In his experience, "summer flowers really don't show up that well." For that, you may want to pick out a certain angle, such as a close-up of the front door and flower garden, and, he says, find someone who specializes in that style.

For that classic, oil painting look, Springfield's Helen Stannard may offer more possibilities. Well known for what she calls decorative paintings of murals, faux finishes, painted furniture and stenciling, Stannard also enjoys the fine arts, including pen-and- ink with watercolor depictions and oil paintings on paper or canvas. She, too, photographs a house before she begins work, but will portray it in any season.

Her oil paintings are "not tight architectural drawings," she says. She doesn't emphasize hard lines and angles, but more light, shadows and colors.

"More of a painting that evokes a mood and feeling and captures associations for the owners," she says, to convey "what the house is to the owner beyond the appearance; their feelings about their house and parts of their lives."

To achieve this effect, Stannard incorporates information from conversations with the owners as well as her observations about the house, landscaping and surroundings.

If there is an aspect of a property that would detract from the final portrait, such as an overly conspicuous driveway or tree that interrupts the view, Stannard will discuss her ideas with the owners before beginning work. In some cases, she can resolve the problem by changing angles. In others, she may take artistic license in her rendering. "I may heighten or soften certain features of a house or yard to capture the most pleasing aspect."

In one interesting project, children commissioned a mural to be painted in their parents' home. Using old photographs for her reference, Stannard incorporated a portrait of the father's childhood farmhouse off in the distance.

Approximate prices for Stannard's work begin around $150 for a small pen-and-ink with watercolor wash, and about $500 for an unframed 11-by-14-inch painting. Like Johnson, Stannard adjusts for the amount of detail involved and the size of the work.

Lois and Adam Suchomski of Springfield own several works in various media by Stannard, including an exterior portrait and an interior view looking outdoors from the inside of their brick ranch home on Inverness. "We are very enthusiastic about the works," says Lois, who combined her love of architecture with love of her home when she commissioned the portraits made.

"Our house is special to us," Lois says. "We moved in when we got married (16 years ago). It's been a happy time for us."

Stannard encourages people to call early. "Don't wait until you're absolutely ready to call an artist. When you're thinking about (having a portrait done), that's probably a good time to call, discuss it, and then fine tune when you get closer to the date."

Chatham artist Richard Blalock works in pencil and watercolors, and strives for "as close as possible to an exact rendering" of the colors, houses and landscapes he paints. In some cases, an old family house has been torn down and he'll work from old photos. In others, he may need to combine the customer's old pictures and his new ones to restore missing elements of the house or landscape the client wants to preserve.

"There are often a lot of memories in the homes," Johnson says. A family may ask that he leave a certain aspect in the picture, such as a tree the son planted, or a post the father put in, or the American flag hanging at the front.

Blalock works closely with local Realtor Susan Madison, who gives house portraits as closing gifts and housewarming presents to her clients.

"I've hired him to do jillions of them for me in the past few years," says Madison, who also has commissioned him to do several portraits of her own home for herself and her children. She appreciates the soft washes of color and angles he selects for his work.

A price guideline for Blalock's work starts with the size of the home. For a bungalow, the basic price is about $80. For a two-story home, approximately $120; a ranch, roughly $140. Larger sizes, homes with a lot of detailed gingerbread, front railings, scrollwork, or picket fences, or groupings of portraits in the same frame take more time and cost more. Portraits are delivered framed, matted and ready to hang in a basic metal frame with an off-white matte, although occasionally a customer wants to customize the frame or buy the portrait unframed.

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