And now for the last item of the night ~~ the portrait is unveiled!
My Louisiana-based cousins had a grand family reunion recently. As the final ‘reveal’ of the night, my aunt was given a portrait that I’d done of her, based on some reference photos I’d taken of her this past July 4th.
It was a joy to see the smile on her face and I’m so happy I could get the painting finished, stretched and shipped to her family before the big day.
I was just out of college, teaching in a Jackson, Mississippi Catholic school when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. Throughout the school, all teachers cancelled regular classes so we could watch his funeral on TV and participate in the grieving.
During commercials and downtime as we watched, I began copying absentmindedly a photo of Bill Cosby from a record album on my desk, using my trusty Bic pen.
Lo and behold, the doodle began to look like a fairly decent representation. I was SHOCKED. That was the first I suspected I could draw a realistic portrait. I kept the little drawing as evidence of this surprising breakthrough, wishing I’d had some better paper at hand — without lines crisscrossing the page.
I came across it the other day while cleaning up some of my old papers. And here it is:
Bill Cosby, after an album photo, pen on scrap paper
I plan to showcase from time to time artists who have caught my eye. Chelsea Bentley James is a recent find. I love her soft, atmospheric palette. Her landscapes are beautiful.
Areal
And her domestic scenes are compelling as well. I love her painting of an elderly woman — her grandmother?
Roselle 1, oil, 12 x 12"
Chelsea, kudos for your lovely and poignant paintings!
Walt Bartman, excellent, indefatigable artist-teacher-mentor and director/founder of the Yellow Barn Studio, is my most recent teacher. I had to wait awhile to build up the courage to face his scrutiny! He’s been great, though. Too bad I waited so long!
Walt has been teaching and painting for more than thirty years. Educated at the University of Maryland and American University, he also studied art in Belgium and the Netherlands through a Fulbright Grant. I like this colorful barn scene by the man aptly termed ‘a breath of plein air’ by the New York Times.
Barnstormer, oil, 24 x 36"
And here’s another by Walt.
Another Dimension, oil, 16x20"
And here’s a nude (from a live model) that I painted during a class of Walt’s.
Nude 2011, oil
After sharing some of my nicer pieces, I thought I’d bring myself back down to terra firma by sharing a stinker with you.
This was meant to be a cute little 6×6″ still life, like those the daily painter folk turn out so easily. I put a couple of beautiful tomatoes from our garden on the kitchen table and started with vigor.
Three scrape-off & re-do’s later, here’s what I had! Ta-da!!
Tomatoes x 3
Groan. I’m reminded of my last class with Glen Kessler, who reminded me that I’ve still got things to learn!
Glen Kessler is another Yellow Barn teacher from whom I’ve learned a lot. Trained as a classical figurative artist at New York Academy of Art, Glen has a profound knowledge of the human figure in art. Glen teaches at Maryland Institute College of Art, as well as Yellow Barn. He draws high praise for his patience and his ability to coax improvement from his students, no matter how experienced or inexperienced.
Here is one of Glen’s many wonderful pet portraits:
Guinness & Ripley, oil on canvas, 36x24"
I’ve already posted the first two paintings I did in Glen’s ‘Painting Through the Lens’ class (Even the Skies Cry for Jody and Chef Chaouen’s Red Sea). Here’s a detail from a figurative painting I did from a live model in another class with Glen:
Detail, The Jazz Singer, acrylic and oil on paper
Here’s the other painting of mine hung in the Glen Echo student exhibit — the Biloxi skies on the morning of my brother’s funeral.
Even the skies cry for Jody
I’m still reluctant to put that toe in the water, but my recent classes at The Yellow Barn in Bethesda are encouraging me to put myself out there a bit more. I’m currently in my first ever exhibit — a student show in the Popcorn Gallery at Glen Echo Park.
Here is the first of my two pieces:
One fine afternoon at MakePiece. Oil.
No matter our level of talent, nothing much really gets done without practice. Over the last few months, I’ve been working at my oil painting — and the drawing skills that go with it — and I’m seeing real progress.
Chef Chaouen's 'Red Sea', oil on canvas, 16x20"
And I recently revived my long-standing interest in tai chi and started a new endeavor that’s gonna require a lot of work — belly dancing! I always thought it would be fun (as with tap dancing and the tango), but I never pictured myself really doing it.