Mimi Torchia Boothby

About a dozen artists have gotten together and we are all painting/drawing the same man’s face. Sadly I do not know who he is, where he was, or when he was photographed, more the pity because he certainly has a fascinating countenance. A lot of people suggested that he was living in part of the USSR, but if that was true, I would expect his cap to say “CCP” as it would be written in Cyrillic letters. What does he do? What was his relationship to the photographer? Does he seem like a nice person? These are questions the painter must ask themselves, and I am curious as to what you think as well. You are welcome to visit the portrait forum to see the other painters’ works as well, I think it’s fascinating to see them all together.

My next few paintings are straying away from portraiture; stand by.

There is a time in a young person’s life where they feel all grown up, but they aren’t and they also feel like their parents do not give them credit for their maturity. So, even though their bodies might be mature, or nearly so, they truly are still children, as they pout and sigh, and write black poetry about how tough life is. It is a terrible time to be a parent, because we know that these children might make terrible life changing decisions hoping to achieve popularity, one of the most important aspects of life to a teenager.
I hoped to capture that time using a reference photo that another artist shared with me. I don’t know who she is, and I don’t know if she ever really danced at her prom. What do you think? Does she remind you of someone?

As a small child, I loved making valentines. We were given paper lace doilies, construction paper and glue. We made the very most beautiful valentines that we could, intricate and pleasingly bright. Lucky for me, I had parents, because they were really the only appreciative recipients of my childhood valentines. But this one is for you, my readers.
I really like St Valentine’s day not just because of the chocolate, but because it is the one day of the year dedicated to love. Of course the entire candy and flower industry have done their best to capitalize on this holiday, like all others, but they really can’t take away the essence of the thing. With some holidays, the original message is all but lost. Valentine’s day is still just a day for expressions of love, something sorely needed these days. I hope you like my valentine!

I finally found time to paint today. This time I want you to see normal me. I often wear a hat like this when I am working in the yard or driving on a sunny day. This painting is a little large, so I am not able to put it on my scanner, thus it is a bit distorted since I took a photo of it with my digital camera. I used watercolor paints, and the way I did it was by painting my own face by looking in a mirror. It is the 12th of a series. I started doing these mirror self portraits because it is an extremely good learning tool. It’s also a technique that has been used by artists for over 500 years.

Do you like my hat? Good bye!

Every painter has their weaknesses. For some, it’s drawing faces, for others, painting hands. Some people are terrified of the color green, since it seems to be so hard to get it looking realistic and pleasing to the eye.
I’ve been painting portraits for about 4 years now, portraits of the living and the dead, men and women, old and young, but little children have always been very hard for me to paint. There’s nothing like painting a 4 year old and have them come out looking like a 10 year old! Little by little I am stretching my wings, so when I saw this little girl’s photo, I knew I had to paint her. I was thrilled as the portrait came together and it does appear that she is the right age, so I must be “getting” it.
Arwen is special. We “met” in Italian class. Her mother and I sat next to each other whenever we could because our ability in the Italian language was very similar. I also suspect that she sat next to me so that I would not sketch her; the whole time I was in that Italian class, I was sketching my instructor and my classmates.
Arwen’s mother also impressed me because I knew she had a little one at home but she still managed to take a class and stay awake through it, and did all her homework too. I knew this little baby would be in good hands. I haven’t met Arwen since she was born, but at least I’ve had a chance to paint her face.