Human Nature

Two of my portraits were chosen for an online Art Exhibit entitled "Human Nature."

I will post a link on April 1st and talk more about these two particular paintings.

For today I am reminded how much emotion is invested in a portrait. I truly feel that without some level of love for the subject, even when the person you are painting is a stranger, their human nature could not be portrayed. From the arduous task of stretching the canvas, the will to first strike the white with a colorful mark, the anxiety of first showing the "mother" your portrayal of her children, the ...."I don't like her teeth."....."can you fix her hair?"...."can you add more color over there or over here?"

I once did three large canvases, one child on each, and had to totally start over on one of them because the mother didn't like the ears.

There comes the day when the parents are satisfied, maybe a little surprised by your effort. The paintings are delivered, hung on the wall they were intended to fill. It is at that holy moment all the pain it took to create them makes sense when the children laugh at their likenesses and the mother smiles. Its Human Nature.

Leap Year

"If you're on thin ice, you might as well dance."   - anonymous

What art you going to do on this 29th of February? Since we are given this "extra" day every four years it seems fitting to treat it as a gift and do something out of your comfort zone. Given the brutal cold of February and a desire to move in a more abstract direction, I am painting cold. More specifically I am experimenting with Cold Wax Painting.

I am mixing 10-15% of a pliable cold wax with 85-90% oil paint and applying the mixture on wood panels with various spatulas and rubber "brushes".  I really enjoy the various textures, the movement of the color and the unpredictability of the results. It's messy fun... a Leap.

see and be seen ...

I'm happy to have been selected to appear in the latest Studio Visit Magazine, volume thirty-two.

Juror Mary M. Tinti, Ph.D., Curator, Fitchburg Art Museum

Studio Visit is a series of juried artist books produced by the publishers of New American Paintings. This publication offers artists an effective venue through which to introduce their work to a serious national audience of art world professionals. The publication presents all two- and three-dimensional media. This includes mixed media, painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture. Each high quality volume of Studio Visit features approximately 150 artists, who have been selected by professional curators. Studio Visit will be received by two thousand carefully selected curators and galleries throughout the country as well as a growing subscriber base of collectors and art enthusiasts.

If you wish to order this particular volume, just click here for the order form. 

Portrait Art

A very lovely and savvy friend of mine told me ..."you should  Pinterest." ... So I did.

On Pinterest I often look for portrait art that inspires me and reassures me that the subject of a face is ever-interesting, ever-changing and ever-challenging. Indulge my Interest in faces as I share these paintings of strangers by strangers.

The common thread in these particular portraits, besides being female, is the directness of the subject. Those eyes stare into mine begging me to ask questions of them and of myself... "Who are you?"... "What are you thinking of?" ... "What is your story?" 

“Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?”

— Pablo Picasso

If you click on the artist's name you can further explore their work ... perhaps finding your own Interest in Pinterest ...

Kris Lewis "Fur Trader"   (top left)           Sue Rubio "Maggie"   (top center)          Claerwen James "Girl Looking Straight Out"   (top, right)

  Ruth Shively "Isabelle"   (bottom left)        Jeffrey Hein  "Sunkissed"   (bottom center)    Seth Haverkamp "The Unfolding"   (bottom right)

Reflections on the End of A Year

Do I have to do this?

I have two children, teenagers really. My once chattering little boy has quietly grown into a young man of 16. My girl has one foot in the door and one out....itching to live on her own next year, or at least with a few hundred other college students. As she anxiously scours the mailbox for letters of "Yes", I paint her portrait at 17 secretly saying "No" don't leave. Stay softly asleep so that I may watch over you.

Do I have to do this? Do I have to let go of each year?

This particular year taught me many things. It taught me to give up on the fantasy, hope, or wish that the past can be different. I learned this year that even hope of a bright future is a hook and an illusion. This is not to say that the future won't be bright. I just won't assume anything nor take love for granted.

Quietly breathe, look and listen to the music of now.

"At 17" is one moment, neither good nor bad, black or white, then or next..........because everything is a work in progress.

Detail of "Grace at 17".....a work in progress