portraits
« Previous EntriesThe Strawberry
Saturday, June 10th, 2023
The Strawberry, 24H x 18W inches graphite on paper.
Tobias – Jia Xin
Thursday, April 6th, 2023
Sweet Dreams, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.
Mind, Body, Spirit
Thursday, September 1st, 2022
Renee at Dance Class, (2007) 11H x 14W inches graphite on paper, NFS – prints only. 3rd Place winner, J. Mane Gallery Mind, Body, Spirit 2022 exhibition showing through September.
Portrait exhibition
Sunday, July 17th, 2022
Adam, (my youngest son at 3 years old, drawn in 2007) 11H x 14W inches graphite on paper.
Showing online now in the Artist Space Gallery ‘Portraits’ exhibition.
Paul-Marie
Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Born in China on June 3rd, our 2nd grandson Paul-Marie – a name that honors his French-Canadian heritage, and Jiahua, his Chinese. He looks like a sweet little cherub! Jiahua is pronounced “ja (soft j) kwua (drag the k).
Brooke Isabelle
Wednesday, September 6th, 2017
Brooke Isabelle, my neice’s daughter born last week, 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper. She looks like a cherub in the photo used as reference, so I subtly impled wings in the background.
Hannah
Thursday, June 1st, 2017
Hannah, 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper. This was a special commission for a good friend. I no longer offer to do portraits – pets, absolutely – but while I love drawing people, the work and long periods of in-between study I require take too long to warrant what I’d need to charge. There are other artists who specialize in only portraits and do nothing else.
The photo was a very small file, only 500 pixels wide, plus the feet were not in the frame, so initially I thought it impossible to work from, but started anyway. All works on paper begin with taped edges, leaving an inch of border which helps when it comes to framing, especially if composition is off a bit. I scribble in the main shapes lightly, gradually building up areas with lines and then shading as confidence grows. As marks, once placed, are difficult to erase, the face details are drawn in more gradually than the rest of the composition.
I remember that my friend used to call her grand-daughter Hannah Banana, so I snuck some banana shapes onto the blanket – that will be a surprise for her when she sees this. I smudge the graphite and use erasers quite a bit, a good technique for subtler details like the background and blanket pattern. Eraser sticks, 2 different sizes, are perfect because they are held and used like a pencil.
A Heart Filled to the Brim
Sunday, January 17th, 2010
A Heart Filled to the Brim, 36H x 48W x 2D inches, water soluble graphite, acrylics on canvas. On exhibit along with Polypore Fungi February through May at the Oxide Gallery, Denton, Texas
An excerpt from the song, I Don’t Believe by Paul Simon on the CD, Surprise:
I don’t believe a heart can be filled to the brim
then vanish like mist as though life were a whim.
Maybe the heart is part of the mist
And that’s all that there is and could ever exist.
A portrait of Alzheimer’s honoring my Grandmother, my Mother-in-law (whose portrait this is, and whose 80th birthday is in two days), and now recently my own Mother who is in the earliest stages; and with empathy for all those afflicted, including the families dealing with the awful emotional reverberations caused by this disease.
Here are a few websites providing information about Alzheimer’s Disease
http://www.alz.org/index.asp
http://www.alzheimersrxtreatment.com/learnaboutalz.html
http://www.alzheimers.org/
Portraits
Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Josee, a portrait of one of my nieces. Gift, 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper. Drawing portraits is like brain surgery – one millimeter off, more or less, in any direction makes all the difference between success or failure!
Pet portrait
Friday, June 27th, 2008
Cloe, 16 x 20 inches acrylics on canvas
I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish ‘The Fourth of July’ as planned in time for the American holiday. Leaving for Canada on Monday, and will be away for two weeks. I’ve been painting and drawing a few gifts for relatives, one of them this pet portrait. The fur is defined by scratches using my fingernail under a wet cloth.
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