Opening Night at Fischbach Gallery

To backtrack a bit, I wanted to post some pictures from the opening of my show, "Above and Beyond." Yes,this is really late because the show has already closed, but it was such a fun evening. I want to thank all my family, friends and fellow artists who attended. Your presence was very much appreciated. And I want to also thank Larry DiCarlo and the people at Fischbach who worked so hard to pull the show together.

Four-Way Strategy: Fourth-Place Winner

This portrait was a lot of fun to paint. It is of four children who live in London, commissioned as a gift for their grandparents. Recently I was very pleased to find out that it was awarded Fourth Place by the Portrait Society of America in their Members' Showcase Competition, "Mulitple Figures" category.

There is a really nice story behind this painting. My first contact with this family was when I painted the children's grandfather, author and presidential speechwriter, around 1995 or 6. There was an unveiling party at the Union League back then. A few years ago, his daughter commissioned me to paint her four children, which became the portrait you see here. After that, both the children and their mother, and the grandparents have visited my studio on separate occasions. I feel blessed to know these wonderful people. This kind of ongoing relationship with families of clients probably sounds familiar to most portrait painters--and it's one of the best things about painting portraits.