I painted this for the Library Big Read 2025 Art Exhibit at the Vigo County Public Library, Indiana, which was based on the book ‘Sitting Pretty’ by Rebekah Taussig. I read the book, and found it enlightening and thought provoking.
From her viewpoint of life in a wheel chair, she thinks that mobile people view the disabled as either heroes to be admired or victims to be pitied. I wanted to illustrate what can be possible in a wheelchair, I hope not in a heroic sense but in the same sense as celebrating anybody else’s achievements.
In April I went to the annual conference of the Portrait Society of America, this year in Atlanta, GA. I had a wonderful time!
I took an all-day pre-conference workshop with Louis Carr, on preparing for painting by doing color studies. He was a great teacher, starting with a fascinating talk on human perception and the illusions of color.
All 30 people in the class painted color studies under his direction, from small photos of other paintings, just trying to match their shapes and colors.
Louis telling us how to get set upMy space-carefully taped and securedWe each chose a print of a painting We placed the background firstColor study finishedSecond color studyWe REALLY tried to keep the mess to a minimumFinished studies-a great lesson.
Oil on canvas panel, 16 x 20 insThe photo I took of her wearing the dress I bought for her.Full size pencil investigationSmall color studyPencil outline (fixed) on a toned canvasBistre underpainting—burnt umber and a lean mixture of mediumGrisaille underpainting (over the bistre)Section of the finished grisaille viewed through a values app.
After painting ‘Katherine in Grey’ I decided to try a full color painting using a grisaille underpainting. I bought an online class to help me—Oil Painting Portrait Glazing class by Will Kemp.
For all of the figure and dress I used two simple triads of colors—Mars Yellow, Chinese Vermillion, and Turquoise light, all by Sennelier, plus Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Titanium White by Geneva Fine Art.
I enjoyed the process of all the steps and layers. Maybe I’ll try it again!
In May I attended the Annual Conference of The Portrait Society, my second year to go, this time in Reston, VA. I had a wonderful time, meeting people from last year, meeting new people, learning new things and receiving critiques.
This year I attended a pre-conference workshop, 9 am-4 pm on Thursday before the Conference started. From the 4 options available I chose ‘Drawing on Emotion’ with Mary Whyte. She gave us drawing instruction in the morning and I drew each of the two models.
In the afternoon she guided us through considering how to instruct and pose the models to depict a certain, chosen emotion. Again I drew the two models. She walked around and gave us helpful critiques on our drawings.
The first main event of the Conference on Thursday evening was the ‘Face-Off’, where 18 artists paint or sculpt 6 models, 3 artists to each model. Attendees could walk around and watch the portraits in progress—all very different approaches!
I also enjoyed two breakout sessions, several main stage demos and talks, the Gala Banquet, and the talks with artists who were the finalists in the International Competition. A highlight for me, as last year, were the lunch time Critique Sessions. I showed my portfolio to six different artists and received very helpful advice.
All in all it was a wonderful four days of learning and inspiration!
This Spring I had three paintings accepted for the ‘Spring’ (any interpretation) Show at the Arts Illiana Gallery. I was particularly happy that my painting ‘A Spring in Her Step’ was juried in.
This is a re-painting I did recently of an earlier painting which was in a smaller format. It is my mother and daughter striding out across the hills and fields while taking the dog for a walk.
So much fun! This portrait is based on a photo from Unsplash, but adapted according to my memories of our 4 month stay in India in 2014. One overwhelming impression there was the riot of color—in clothing, outside temples, in decorations. It was a beautiful feast of color!
Here’s a gallery of some steps in the process:
Dancing with the colors—a freehand placing of connected colors.Adding the motif by oil transfer.Negative blocking—rubbing out the lightest areas with a paper towel.Blocking in the major values and colors. Adding some momentum—brushing, scraping, swiping and swooshing!Restoring the image with more layers of color and refinement.
I had a painting like this in mind for several months, ever since I took the photo last fall of my granddaughter staring at parachute jumpers exiting an airplane. I liked the lighting on her, her position, and her look of interested wonder.
It seemed a fitting start for a painting for a group Show connected with our local library’s Fall Big Read–World Of Wonders, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. The book is intended to increase people’s interest and wonder in the natural world. I read the book over the summer and appreciated many of the author’s thoughts and insights.
In my painting I made the object of her vision and wonder a Monarch butterfly, the subject of a chapter in the book. I enjoyed researching the butterfly and adding it to my painting.
The art display is up in the Terre Haute library for the month of August 2022.
I painted this picture of my youngest granddaughter from a photo taken and sent by my daughter-in-law. Besides loving the subject, I loved the light on her face. The photo was actually taken in their bathroom without the toys. I adjusted the background and requested a photo of the toys to add to the foreground.
This painting is currently on display at the Link Art Gallery in Paris, IL. I was delighted to find that my painting was chosen as the one used for the promotional cards for the Show. It will be up until July 15, 2022, along with other works by members of the River City Art Association, including two more of mine.
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