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.
What a week it was! Getting our first glimpse of new grandboy and welcoming a wonderful new daughter-in-law into our family.
The Happy Couple
The wedding, held at the lovely farm and vineyard of Mariam’s parents, was short and sweet. And the reception long and merry ~~ with belly dancing by the two mothers (gadzooks!) and boogying by all to New Orleans blues. The perfect melding of two families and two cultural traditions. Made pluperfect by the presence as best man of our other son, accompanied by his brave and beautiful wife and their wonderful new baby, our first grandchild. We are so blessed.
I’ve been falling down on the blog because I’ve fallen for our new grandbaby, a sweet boy named Max.
I won’t post a picture — an not sure of the degree of privacy my son and his wife would prefer. But suffice it to say, we’re all thrilled. I’ve looked through my images to find something that expresses the joy, vitality, and excitement associated with this wonderful event.
A Biloxi Burst of Joy -- Fit for the JoyBoy
I tend to take photos wherever I go. I was in Richmond, VA recently, by myself. So I had carte blanche to go ‘snap-happy’. Last night I decided to do something with one of the many images collected on that trip.
Here’s a quick sketch, done on the iPad with the Sketchbook app: two young folks, decked out for hosting dinner at The Tobacco Company restaurant. They were such a welcoming pair and so coordinated in their attire, that I asked to take their picture. They posed, I snapped, and now have turned their image into this little exercise in body language.
The late lunch was nice too! And you should see the antique ‘cigar store Indian’ that graces the bar area.
My family and I went over to the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park Saturday and were delighted to find that one of my two paintings on display had a big red dot by it. See me grinning next to it, below. [That red dot is BIG, when you get right up to it. I promise!]
First Painting Sale Gets Thumbs Up
And here’s a closer view of the oranges (in their complementary blue bowl), painted at my friend Eneida’s over a quiet afternoon of ‘painting with a buddy’. I’ll miss them!
Oranges at Eneida's, oil on canvas
I spent Saturday touring the magnificent Newseum in Washington, DC.
Kat Bergeron, one of the Sun Herald’s Pulitzer Prize winning team covering the hurricane, her sister Estelle, and I studied the moving Katrina exhibit, which is scheduled to close later this month. The exhibit memorializes the tireless efforts of the local press to publish critical information about the catastrophe that destroyed my family’s home, along with much of the rest of Biloxi, MS.
Sun Herald cover urges, 'Help Us Now'
We also previewed the new exhibit commemorating the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The exhibit includes a large remnant of the Twin Towers and many other objects that speak to this national tragedy, along with front pages of newspapers from around the world. Here is a view looking down over the exhibit.
Overlooking Newseum's new 9/11 Exhibit
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
I’ve been spreading the word to artistic friends about the fun of roughing out quick sketches, abstractions, and otherwise getting wild ‘n crazy on an ipad. Here are a few more of images.
The first is a little living room scene – another of my early realistic efforts.
Every Girl Needs a Red Purse -- at least once in her life
And another abstract. I did a whole series, limiting myself to two dominant colors (plus white), accented by a small amount of a third color.
Red White & Blue
And this one was done from the passenger seat of our car as we sped through the Pennsylvania countryside. I loved the colors of the overcast afternoon and decided to try to capture them on the ipad.
Color Note from Car Window
Natasha Karpinskaia is yet another of the outstanding teachers at the Yellow Barn Studio. Educated in her native St. Petersburg, Russia and New York City, Natasha is an exciting abstract artist working in various media: from oils and acrylic to encaustics and printmaking. She sees her art as a logical extension of her studies as an art historian. From analyzing works of art came a desire to physically participate in the process of creating.
Here is one of her original prints.
Natasha's Print
It took me awhile to get semi-comfortable with the process. Abstractions were hard to imagine and the oil-based inks were hard to deal with. I may try water-based inks next time. Here’s my favorite print from the class.
Tumbling, oil on paper