Portraiture: A Philadelphia Tradition

I'm delighted to announce that the Wayne Art Center will be hosting a group portrait show! It will run from October 24 through November 16. This area is home to such a lot of talented portrait painters and it is wonderful that the Wayne Art Center thought to offer a venue in which to showcase their work.

The participating artists are: Rachel Constantine, Addie Cooper, Ellen Cooper, John Ennis, Jennifer Frudakis, Bill Hanson, Glenn Harrington, Garth Herrick, Nancy Bea Miller, Ernie Norcia, Catherine Prescott, Jimm Scannell, and myself.

The opening reception will be on Sunday, October 28, from 3-5 p.m.

There will be a group portrait demo on Thursday, November 1, at 7:00 p.m.

There will be an informal artists' gallery talk on Thursday, November 8, at 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be served.

We have such a long and venerable tradition of portraiture in Philadelphia that includes Charles Wilson Peale, Cecilia Beaux, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, and Alice Kent Stoddard. Even John Singer Sargent can be included in this list because his parents were from Philadelphia. More recently we have Andrew Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth, Bo Bartlett, and Nelson Shanks. And that's just off the top of my head, so please excuse me if I missed some important artists. I'm hoping that this kind of show will happen again before long, and that we will be able to include more artists next time.

Landscape Workshop coming up in October

I thought I'd better get a head start and let people know about my one-day landscape workshop. We'll be enjoying and painting the fall foliage at a location outside Philadelphia.

VALUE AND COLOR MASSING IN LANDSCAPE PAINTING

Friday, October 19 (raindate Saturday, October 20)
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Observing landscape while working outside is a great way to push your skills to the next level. Working in oils, we will begin with small, quick oil sketches in order to establish major areas of light, shadow, color and value. We will then develop two paintings, one in morning light and one in afternoon light. Basic knowledge of oil painting is required. Participants need to bring all materials and a box lunch.

For details, or to sign up, contact the Wayne Art Center at:

info@wayneart.org

Hope to see you there--plus, you'll get to see me wearing this very fashionable hat.

Portrait Class at Wayne Art Center

Wow, time flies! I'm a little late getting this out since my portrait class starts tomorrow! Here's the scoop:

PORTRAIT PAINTING IN OIL
Mondays 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Fall semester, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

Students will learn how to construct portraits with a consistent color framework based on the relationship between light, atmosphere, and shadow. We will work on creating the feeling of "air" as the figure emerges from the background. We will also focus on the control of values, edges, and level of detail. Drawing experience is recommended. Previous experience with oils is useful, but not necessary.

We will be working from live models, and the model fee is included.

The photos are from last year's portrait class. We had a lot of fun.

For information, or to sign up (there may still be room left), try:

info@wayneart.org

And to get more detailed information, take a look at the WAC's fall schedule:

http://www.wayneart.org/classes/adult-classes-m.php

Painting Trip

I recently returned from yet another trip to Maine, this one devoted entirely to painting! My friends and fellow artists Nancy Bea Miller, Eliza Auth, and Diana Cobb Ansley and I went to Mount Desert Island and Monhegan for a week of blissful immersion in art. We painted the Beehive from Sand Beach during what began as cloudless weather and swiftly changed as a fog bank rolled in from the ocean. The next day was rainy so we painted the Seawall from under a friend's porch roof. Then on Monhegan we had perfect jewel-like clear skies and hardly a breeze--perfect painting conditions--and I was able to complete two canvases and still hike around the island and take photos. We took a boat ride to Manana, an island adjacent to Monhegan. It was open, tundra-like terrain, wild and uninhabited. All in all, we had a wonderful trip and it was hard to return to civilization.

Working vacation in Maine

I could have called this a "busman's holiday" but it sounds un-artistic. Plus, I had too much fun to claim that the work overtook the play. Most of my two weeks was spent on Mount Desert Island. Here I am on top of Beech Mountain with my friend Diana Cobb Ansley. Diana and I have known each other since our early teens, and we actually met in Somesville, a small village in the center of MDI that was settled by our common Somes ancestors. Diana is a painter, as you can see. Yes, I know my eyes are closed AGAIN--but you can't ask a passing hiker to take tons of photos just to get one of me with open eyes.

When I am in Maine I pay a pilot to fly me around in a single-engine plane to take reference photos that I later use to develop my aerial paintings. This year I flew over Rockport Harbor, Vinalhaven and North Haven, Deer Isle, Isle Au Haut, and Mount Desert. The weather was beautiful and it was exciting to see the light, the colors, and the endless forms of land and water.

Sometimes I fly out of Bar Harbor, but my favorite pilot is Sandy Reynolds of Maine Scenic Airways. Besides being an expert pilot, he understands artists and photographers. He operates out of the airport in Belfast, ME. For anyone who is interested in flying wth Sandy, his website is: mainescenicairways.com. You can reach him by phone at: 207-338-4736.

This year I also fit in a short visit to Indian Island, off Rockport, with my lifelong (and multitalented) friend Linda Vizi. This was Linda's second visit to the island; we had gone there together after graduating from high school in 1971! On the island, Linda worked on her applique while I painted a portrait sketch of my brother's mother Harriet and a plein air sketch of the lighthouse and house.

Altogether it was a great two weeks, and it has been a difficult transition back to the regular work schedule.

Summer Show at Gross McCleaf Gallery

If you are in Philadelphia in the next few weeks before Labor Day, the Gross McCleaf Gallery is having a summer group show of works with a summery theme. The air-conditioning is great, and lots of galleries are closed, so it's a perfect place to stop in when you are suffering in the heat and humidity of downtown Philadelphia and you want to look at a refreshing variety of art that reminds you of the nice things about summer. I've got two paintings in the show (photos soon) and there are a lot of wonderful ones by all the other artists in the gallery.

The gallery is located on 16th Street between Sansom and Walnut Streets. Their summer hour are Monday through Friday, 10-5.

Their website is:

http://www.grossmccleaf.com

Artist's Magazine finalist

Just heard that one of my portraits, Young Harpist, was named as a finalist in the Artist's Magazine 24th Annual Art Competition. The actual winners have already been chosen, so this means it has no chance of a prize, but hey, I'm happy with this much. A couple of years ago another painting of mine, Becca in Prom Dress, was a finalist in the same competition. It sure seems as though the judges are preferential to my paintings of young women in long, flowing, formal dresses! I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad sign, because in both cases the concept of the portrait was not really about the dress or about young female beauty.