Thanks to the wonders of the internet I am able to learn along side of other artists from any corner of the world. For practice painting portraits, we do “exchanges.” This was my third exchange, I happened to get as a partner a lovely young lady from the Bahamas. Yet another miracle in this technical world; you get to see her face on your computer monitor as painted by yours truly. I am awaiting her attempt at sketching my face.
Ever since I rode the tram to Rome, I have been excited about Light Rail, so when our lives were disrupted for over 3 years of construction, I was a lot more patient with it than you might expect from me. And yesterday, July 18th was opening day. Here in my neighborhood, they planned a little party and I was invited as an artist to attend and I shared a tent with Seanna Jordan, who paints whimsical colorful pet portraits. It was a riot. I sold commemorative paintings like this one to Greg Nickels, to wannabe King County Executive Larry Phillips, and I made a special one for Tom Rauf, one of the movers and shakers who is building the new Condominiums called “The Station at Othello” I painted a representation of his own buildings in the painting for him. I had watched him musing over the others and I guessed that he might like one that included his dream. I also met the author of “oldladyonabike” blog, Mona Lee.
My husband and I hopped aboard the light rail to discover — new light rail smell! a lot like new car smell, only different. We rode to Tukwila and back and except for the long lines at Tukwila, we had a great time. The views as you head towards the airport are great. Together with all the other people in our car, we wondered where we will put our luggage when we finally do have the opportunity to take this train to the airport.
It was a fun day!
A few years ago, my coworker asked me to paint his dog. He brought me a lot of photos, but there was not one that I felt I could use as a reference. This month, I tried again. Good dog, you made a good point.
Nick
I work for a large aerospace corporation. Every year they recruit promising bright engineers from all over the world. I have watched them come and go for 30 years now. It’s always interesting to see which ones will leave after a year of Seattle’s traffic, housing prices, and weather; and which ones turn into permanent Seattle residents. Nick gave some warning signs early on when he complained about the weather; still I hoped he’d stick around, he has a lot to offer, he’s bright, and did not have the typical engineer personality. Unfortunately, Nick and his lovely wife did decide to leave; their family ties were too strong, they went back home to a place called Yadkinville, if you can believe it. He was gracious enough to allow me to paint his portrait. The background is part of the skyline view from Alki Beach, where they made their home in Seattle.
A friend approached me with a request; could I paint his mother. It struck me as being somewhat of an unusual request, until I remembered his mother died when he was a boy. I accepted the commission before I had seen any of the reference photos, because I completely understood the need to bring our beloved relatives back to life, even in a painting. As I painted June, I felt like I got to know her. Even though she is young in the photos, I realize she is close to my age, and was born just a couple of years before I was. And here I am aging, and she is not. She’s beautiful, happy, surrounded by her children as she rests at the beach. As I got familiar with this smiling woman, I hoped that somehow the smiles that she gave me would also give back to her family, with this portrait.