Portrait Drawings

Lately I've been playing around with charcoal pencils and gouache on illustration board, doing some portraits...most of these you can see on my DeviantArt link~ I knew eventually I couldn't resist playing with the drawings once I scanned them into Photoshop.
So this is traditional art/digital art fusion. I think I'm hooked. And I'm really enjoying drawing portraits, something I haven't done in a few years.

Interview

Amusingly enough, I recently received a email from a high school student, requesting an interview for his Art History class. *What a laugh* since when did I become one of those artists whose work is important enough to be history ? Either out of ignorance or lack of sleep from working/partying the night before, I slept through Art History class at RISD, that early morning class in which they dimmed the lights and showed slides and droned on and on about the significance of each artist and movement.

Anyhow, the interview questions seemed rather bland at first glance, but I found myself really thinking about a few of them as I answered.

Q. Why do you create your art?
A. I am a visual person, compelled to express myself in creative ways. It comes as naturally as eating or breathing. Two quotes which come to mind here: “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso

Life is boring without art. Reality is boring. So I take a bit of fantasy, mythology, and oftentimes “heighten” my subjects, by portraying them larger than life. I am fascinated by the symbolic meaning of things I paint, of the myths and legends behind the subjects. I feel that we have lost some of the ancient wisdom and spiritual connection to the earth that our ancestors had.

Q. What is its purpose?
A. Individual self expression, mostly. I want people to feel something positive, to create something of beauty in this world. There is too much hopelessness and self-destruction out there.

Q. Does any of your work convey a meaning, message or agenda?
A. Yes. I was trained as an Illustrator (RISD, BFA/Illustration) so I always have a purpose in mind when painting or drawing. Once finished, the art takes on a life of its own and may convey an entirely different meaning to the viewer than I had originally intended. This is OK.
For example: When I draw or paint someone’s portrait, I am not necessarily looking for photo-realism, I am looking to bring out the essence of that person, that which is unique and different in their character as I see them.
“The job of the artist is to deepen the mystery.” -Francis Bacon

...by the way, the student got a 100 on his presentation. Alot better than my grade in Art History.

The Garden Lady website

Newly launched is Ana Newell's Garden Lady website. She is a talented landscape designer, and being a lifelong gardener myself (many of her featured flower and container photos are of my own gardens) it was really a pleasure to design this one in the middle of February. I think green will always be my favorite color. Visit Ana the Garden Lady at The Garden Lady

Jamestown Arts Center website

Website launch for Jamestown Arts Center, which is a newly founded community arts group dedicated to providing artists of all ages and disciplines with space and education. Jamestown is a community very populated with amazing talent, so I was honored to be chosen to represent them on the web. Certainly, this is a basic design, as they will grow and need much more in the future. Visit them at this link: Jamestown Arts Center

the Donovan Gallery website re-design

New design for the Donovan Gallery, which has been a landmark at Tiverton Four Corners for years. The challenge: feature 45 artists with a sampling of each of their work, along with artists which are featured monthly in American Art Collector. This had to highlight and coordinate with her advertising, as well as list her workshops and other specialties, such as Red Sox Art. This is the first time I made extensive use of the "Preview Image" widget, which performs beautifully, creating fullsize image mouseovers within the page. I was able to place 45 artists with 90 large images within one page. Come visit the Donovan Gallery website: click here

Schock Gallery opening

New Gallery opening in Jamestown on December 1. About time I started painting again, finally. Website: SchockGallery.com Named after David Schock, not because the work is shocking...although it might be fun to do something shocking for it. Hard to shock anyone these days. It's all been done before. Anyhow, the Gallery is 5 of us (to start) David (oils), Myself(pastels), Kate Petrie (photography), Barbara Hutchison (oils), Pat Tuff (photography).

Christina Beecher emerging new artistWebsite Design

Christina Beecher has a beautiful, gestural way with landscape painting. Here monotone paintings are particularly striking. Check out her work here: Christina Beecher. Another website design by yours truly.