Portrait Demo at Weiler House Fine Art Gallery

Last Saturday I was thrilled to present a live portrait demonstration at my local art gallery in Fort Worth, TX. I started painting around 5:00 p.m., and visitors could come and go as they pleased, or stay and watch the whole thing. I had an absolute BLAST! I always wondered how my piano-playing twin sister came to be such a performer who loves the spotlight, when I didn't enjoy performing at all. I'd start a recital piece and mess up the very beginning, then involuntarily say, "Oops!" Well, it turns out that I am a performer after all... I just needed a different kind of spotlight! :-) I've discovered that I love painting for an audience. I somehow managed to paint not one, but TWO portraits during the 4 1/2 hours that I demonstrated at the gallery, and I enjoyed every second of it.

The event was part of Fort Worth's monthly Gallery Walk. Since the demo was so well received, I plan on making this a regular thing. I'll be continuing to post on my Facebook page and monthly newsletter, to ensure that you stay updated as to when my next demo will be.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the evening.

My model was Joan Ryan, the wife of gallery owner Bill Ryan. I've been wanting to paint Joan since I met her - she has lovely cool skin tones and such a sweet expression. It was an honor to paint her!

There were actually two artists in the room... :-)

Above: The finished portrait of Joan. 16x12" - oil on Raymar linen panel.

Above: I started my second portrait quite differently from the first, since Audette, my beautiful volunteer, had much warmer skin tones and colors in her clothes than Joan did. Instead of using the white canvas, I toned with a wash of transparent oxide red, then moved in to the block-in.

Above: you can see all the finger prints on the canvas where I used my pinky to steady my hand. :-)

Above: The finished portrait of Audette. 14x11", oil on linen.

Guy with a Beard

This guy... Michael Mentler. The Infamous 'M'. :-)

Michael runs the Society of Figurative Arts in Carrolton, TX. I have known him for almost five years now and have enjoyed regularly attending his Tuesday portrait painting sessions. We have gotten to be very good friends, and I have enjoyed celebrating with him in his remarkable success as of late (he has been hailed as a "modern-day Leonardo" by Richard Schmid himself!). Michael is an excellent artist and teacher, but he also has an overall look that is begging to be painted! He has posed for such greats as Sherrie McGraw and Rose Frantzen. At SOFA, though we work from all different models week to week, we are always begging Michael to sit for us. This week, our model didn't show, so Michael complied, and I finally got my shot at capturing this great man's likeness. I have tried at least twice before, and was never satisfied with the result. This time, I am much happier with it.

"Portrait of Artist Michael Mentler" - 12x9" - oil on linen panel (quick sketch completed in under 3 hrs)

(detail)

Another Summer in Wisconsin

It's crazy how fast the summer has gone, since Steve and I have been travelling so much. We recently returned from two whole weeks in our home state of Wisconsin, where I didn't do as much painting as I hoped, but had some wonderful visits with family and friends (much needed time away from the easel, actually!). I have come back refreshed; there was, in fact, one whole day on our trip that I got to sit around, lazing in the sun with a good book, doing absolutely nothing productive. For those of you who know me... that is a rare thing, indeed!

Much of our time was spent at Steve's family cabin. We hadn't been there in two years and it was wonderful to breathe the fresh air and relax a little bit. The dog had a great time too, as you can see...

 Throwing the stick in the water - this is the only way Bella will really fetch anything!

Below are some pictures from the few days that I did get to paint.

Above: I hadn't painted in several days and started getting the itch... so I did this simple 5x7 and felt better afterwards. :-) It turned out all right in spite of the cloudy weather.

Below: Here is Tom Sweeney Sr., of Shady Nook Resort (they are lake front neighbors of ours). He and his family have owned and operated the resort for years. I thought he would make a fantastic portrait subject, so he kindly sat for me and shared stories of life in the north woods.

I finished the portrait later in my studio:

My sister Emily and her husband Blake joined us for a couple of days at the cabin. We had a great time fishing together, going out on the boat, and making s'mores over a campfire. Good times indeed!

Watching the sunset while fishing out on the boat. You can't really tell who I'm with in the picture below, but that's my twin sister and I sharing a blanket. We've gotten used to the 100-degree weather in Dallas, so northern Wisconsin felt pretty cold!

Campfire!

The only person I've ever been competitive with in my entire life is my twin sister, Emily. We decided to play with fire, so to speak, and have a contest to see who could draw the best outline of a horse in the air with a burning stick. Each "drawing" had to be done in just a matter of seconds. Steve took pictures of each one with a slow shutter speed, and that's how we got these shots. Above: Emily's first crack it a horse was incredible! I tried and failed several times before finally getting this one (below).

Maybe I'll just stick to portraits...

My last painting of the trip: an attempt at capturing water lilies and woodland reflections, with the old canoe.

This is as far as I got. I plan on refining it in the studio, and possibly adding some blooms to those water lilies. I like the mood though - it captures the essence of calm and relaxation that is here at the cabin.

Below: I started a portrait of my beautiful sister-in-law, Lindsay. A mother of four, she enjoyed the excuse to sit and do nothing for several hours!

Below: painting something else... my niece's nails. :-)

Below: For the first time in three years, my ENTIRE family was together... all 15 of us!

I'll post pictures of more finished paintings as I go. In one week, I'll be heading off to San Diego for American Artist's Weekend with the Masters. Until then, I'm scrambling to get some serious studio time in here at home. Keep watching for new work!

A 45-minute head study

My husband Steve and I had the wonderful privilege of flying back to our home state of Wisconsin this last weekend for a 5-day reprieve from the hot Texas weather. We had a wonderful visit with family and friends, including two days at Steve's family cabin near Hayward, right on the Chippewa Flowage (where the world record muskie was caught, in case you were interested). Aside from enjoying numerous boat rides, home-cooked meals, and Cribbage games, I got to sit down with my father-in-law, Dale, and paint his portrait. We didn't have a lot of time, so I did a quick head study. I'm going to finish it here in my studio, but it was exciting to work from life and somehow capture a small piece of his personality. He is the perfect subject - curly hair, glasses, round cheeks, and a handlebar mustache. What more could a portrait artist ask for??