An artist on the loose with paints and paper can be a dangerous thing. I was looking for something in my bookcase, and I came upon a book that used to belong to a deceased friend of mine named Lori. I flipped through the book and discovered a postcard reproduction of a Frida Kahlo painting called “Diego en mi pensamiento.” It got my attention, because my friend Dale has spoken of this painting more than once, but this was the first time I had ever seen it. So.. I thought, what the hay, why not copy it? And well, it was fun!
November 22nd, 2014
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I am participating in a 5 day workshop focusing on faces, called Faces101 by Carla Sonheim. For this assignment, we were told to draw from photos of people that we know very well and to use colored pencils, which cannot be erased. Quite the challenge for an artist. I liked the last one I did so much that I put more than the allotted 5 minutes into it and this was the result. Here is my grandmother, Lucy Fressola. She was born in Puglia in 1910 and came to the USA on a boat when she was just 9 years old. She was such an important person in our family because of her intelligence, her drive, and her ambition, and her preservation of the culture that she was raised in. I have tried to emulate her all my life. I know she was proud of me too.
I am going through stuff in my house, trying to reduce clutter. As a result, I found these wonderful treasures from my past.
This first portrait is of young love. We used to sit and gaze into each other’s eyes. True love. This is Donald, but a little stylized. Hey, I was in love!
By the time I did this caricature of Donald, I knew him a little better. This sketch is stained and battered, it hung on the wall for a time because we both liked it. I guess I fantasized at this time of being a caricature artist. Working full time at Boeing, and mom to two busy little boys, that just never happened. From time to time, I’d drag out my sketch pad and pencil and draw a couple more pictures. That’s as far as it got.
This sketch is from a photo, It was when Tom first started to smile. All of the other sketches here were done from life with a pencil and an eraser.
This is a sketch of Donald with our two boys, eating popcorn. It was a pretty typical evening for us.
This last sketch is Josiah when he still went by the name Dan. He was an artist in his own right starting from a very tender age.
Just for fun, I went to a seminar taught by my nephew Chris Crew, on how to get a license for growing or selling marijuana in the state of Washington. As many of you know, it’s legal in our state now, so one imagines that we are in the same position as the country was in many years ago when prohibition was overturned.
Those of you that know me would be most surprised to see me attending such a workshop, I don’t smoke pot, I don’t even drink alcohol. But I was curious to see my nephew in action. And he did not disappoint. His talk was clear, concise, factual. He was very helpful and honest, telling some people that they would never get through the licensing process because of their funding sources or the police record of their spouse.
Ah, but those of you that know me also know that it is impossible for me to sit in a meeting without drawing… so I did. A good time was had by all.. except maybe the guy whose wife had too many DUI’s!
As I sit here today, cringing every time the wind throws more rain on my window, I think back to the warm weekend of the Folklife festival It was such a glorious day, my dear husband and I took many photos because it seemed that everyone had come out to enjoy the music and the sunshine.
I have a weakness for handsome young men, and this guy showed so much verve that I had to make a portrait of him. I took his photo to save for a time that I could sit down and paint him. And here he is, showing his sartorial splendor and his wonderful attitude. This is republished from 2012.
This painting measures 14″ x 20″ and is for sale $350.00. All proceeds go to endangered animal conservation programs. YOU can really help by buying a painting.
