Sunday, February 26, 2012

Portraits


I am excited that The Steven Boone Gallery will be hosting a major show of portraits, July 6, 2012. Artists from as far away as New York, Seattle, and Ontario, Canada will participate. My friend, the painter Geoffrey Laurence is curating and his standards are high, so this will be a wonderful exhibit.
I am primarily known as a landscape painter, and this is what sells the most for me. But I have always loved portraits and depictions of human subjects. Now, besides my landscape paintings, I am working on portraits.

Recently, a colorful and stately older woman came to my studio. Alicia De Najera Sena and I are just getting acquainted. When my wife, Heidi Of The Mountains, realized that I needed a subject, she immediately thought of Alicia. Alicia is flamboyant and worldly. Her heritage is Native American and Hispanic, and she has been involved with flamenco and flamenco dance companies for years.

When Alicia arrived at my studio, she was dressed in a red velvet dress and red shawl, which was perfect for enhancing the look of her dark skin and long black hair. She brought flamenco cd’s with her, and as the music played, struck poses under my skylight, in front of a black cloth I had strung from my ceiling. I took about seventy pictures. Soon, I will begin sketching from one of the photo’s and call Alicia back in for adjustments as I proceed. It is better this way, since Alicia  has foot problems and could not stand for hours on end as I paint her portrait.

I am certain I will get a good likeness.

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