Recap: "Face-Off" at the Portrait Society

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia, enjoying the incredible "Art of the Portrait" conference that is put on each year by the Portrait Society of America. One of the highlights of the event is the "Face-Off" competition, which kicks off the weekend activities with great momentum. Conference attendees get a chance to sit and watch their favorite artists do an alla prima portrait from start to finish, but the twist is that it's not just one artist working... there are actually fifteen of them, all painting at once from live models! Most attendees choose to wander in circles around the artists so they can try and take it all in. The energy and excitement in the room is contagious. Each artist tries to do his or her best possible work in less than three hours, as attendees vote on their favorite at the end, and the winning artist gets to do a demo on the big stage later on during the weekend.

This year's artists included Casey Baugh, Ryan Brown, Ellen Cooper, Michelle Dunaway, Stephen Early, John Ennis, Rose Frantzen, David Kassan, Robert Liberace, Bart Lindstrom, Susan Lyon, Tony Pro, Alexandra Tyng, Mary Whyte, and Lea Wight. Almost all the artists chose to work in oil, with the exception of Mary Whyte, whose signature medium is watercolor, and Susan Lyon, who worked in conte.

 Mary Whyte, working in watercolor

Susan Lyon, using conte for her portrait

As I wandered the room, trying my best to see what everyone was doing, I was astounded by the diversity in the work. Not only did each artist begin their painting differently, but they varied in all other aspects, from canvas or panel size, palette, color and brush choices, and methods of measuring, to even the way they stood or sat in front of the model. Some squinted at the model and blocked in big shapes; others put down anchor points and backed away from their canvas after nearly every stroke.  Some artists, such as Michelle Dunaway and Tony Pro, are used to working alla prima in their everyday work. Michelle zeroed in on the eye sockets and worked out from there; Tony began his painting by blocking in the light and shadow masses with middle values.

Tony Pro and Michelle Dunaway, in the early stages of their paintings.

Some of the others who typically work in a more classical style, such as Ryan Brown and David Kassan, took their usual approach and "sped it up." Ryan Brown began his block-in with a traditional "cartoon," a drawing consisting of two values representing the light and shadow. David Kassan, Alexandra Tyng, Robert Liberace, and several others, began their paintings with light line drawings using warm tones and a small brush. 

David Kassan

Alexandra Tyng and Ellen Cooper 

Stephen Early and Robert Liberace

Rose Frantzen began her painting with oil sticks, "feeling out" the gesture and pose with what might have appeared to most a doodle-like and unorthodox approach. (It works for her!)

Rose Frantzen beginning her painting with oil sticks.

Overall, the quality of work this year was excellent and the finished paintings looked great. There was enough technique being wielded in that room to rival the most prestigious of art schools. Because conference attendees could watch what was going on, it became a great opportunity to figure out who they might wish to study from in the future. After all, each artist had something unique to offer. 

The winner of this year's Face-Off was Mary Whyte, whose beautiful watercolor portrait impressed everyone, especially those of us who mostly work in oil!

Mary Whyte

And here are the rest of the finished paintings:

Bart Lindstrom

Rob Liberace

Stephen Early

Michelle Dunaway

Rose Frantzen

Alexandra Tyng

Lea Wight

Casey Baugh

Ellen Cooper

John Ennis

Tony Pro

Susan Lyon

Ryan Brown

David Kassan

"FOMO" - Art Style

In case you were wondering... Women's Health Magazine is the only non-art related publication I subscribe to, simply because, by the end of the day, I've worked so hard and been so immersed in my art that I need something light and inconsequential to help me wind down. However, an article in the latest issue (June 2012, pp. 106-108) really caught my attention. The article was titled, "Are You a Slave to FOMO?" It's not considered an actual disorder, but FOMO ("Fear of Missing Out") is, according to Huffington Post's Annie Stamell, "an epidemic sweeping our nation".  In the article, one psychologist states, "FOMO happens when we invalidate the experience we're having because we're obsessed with the ones we're not having." This often triggers a great deal of self-induced stress, guilt, envy, or insecurity. Not only does FOMO invalidate your experiences, it causes you to want to "inflate" the experiences you are having so that others will envy you. For instance, you might tweet, "Sand between my toes, a good book, and a cold drink. This is paradise!" when really you are sitting in your backyard sipping a coke, doing your taxes, and slapping mosquitos away. Okay, that might be a silly example, but I think you get the drift.

Why do I bring this up? Because my little art-wired brain recognizes FOMO as something I'm seeing far and wide in the art world, particularly because of Facebook and other social media. I've experienced it myself. I'm suddenly remembering all those hours I spent in college framing and finishing last-minute pieces for my senior art show... my friends were all out partying, and I was experiencing FOMO. Or, when many of my art friends attended a certain art event its first year running... and then the second year, and the third year... without me... I experienced FOMO. It made me feel like I wasn't good enough, and that no matter what I was doing here at home, it would never be as great or as exciting. Or even this past weekend, at the Portrait Society of America conference, I conked out at 11 every night and missed out on the late-night festivities and conversations. Uh, hello... FOMO. As I continued believing I wasn't one of the "cool kids," self-doubt set in, among other unhealthy emotions.

Quite honestly, this is ridiculous. As artists, we should be accustomed to long hours alone in the studio, where nothing matters but creating excellent work. Yet we can't peel our eyes off of what the rest of the world is doing, and consequently, waste valuable hours of our lives in envy and regret.

Here is my solution to dealing with FOMO in the art world.

1) Limit your time on Facebook. Post when you have something relevant to say, or a new painting to show, etc, but don't spend hours stalking your art friends and envying what they are doing. I also have a policy that when I start feeling envy set in, I will think about why that person is really great and deserves the wonderful things that are happening in their lives. Then I write an encouraging comment (i.e., "Amazing work!" or "So glad you got to experience that!"), to validate their experience.

2) Whatever your reason is for missing out on something, OWN IT. For example, when I missed out on all the parties before college graduation because I was framing art and finishing paintings, I was happy to say that I never suffered from a hangover, AND that all the hard work paid off. I sold many of the pieces at my show! Even if you can't attend a workshop or conference, or go to lunch with a famous artist, or travel to Europe every year to paint... don't worry about it. Do the best you can with the circumstances you are in and make the very most of that time. Your work (and your happiness) will improve exponentially.

3) Enjoy each stage of your career, while applauding the successes of others. This is a tough one for me, because my tendency is to always look ahead, while missing out on the present. Being an artist IS about the journey, not about how many publications you get in or how big your studio is or whether or not you become famous. It's the journey.

That being said, I would like to applaud all of the incredible artists who were finalists in this year's International Portrait Competition held by the Portrait Society of America. I would also like to praise the efforts of the 15 Face-Off artists at the conference in Philadelphia, and everyone who gave of their time and energy to help with this event. Samuel Adoquei said, "The best artists are givers." That is what I saw at this event - knowledge and talent being poured out by artists so that others could learn from their successes and mistakes. Hopefully as we are inspired by others (and not hampered by FOMO), we will take what we can use for our own personal journeys and simply leave the rest. We've got painting to do!

Rose Frantzen and Mary Whyte at the 2012 "Art of the Portrait" Face-Off