Last week my opening reception for my month long solo exhibit at Framations Gallery in St. Charles went GREAT! LOTS of people came by...possibly hundreds. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Many of my portrait subjects stopped by. I also had the bonus of a visit from my 7th grade science teacher who brought a painting I had done for him when I was 12 years old! That was so much fun to see. To anyone who came by I thank you for being so supportive and making the evening memorable for me. I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Thank you to Julie who came from Indiana to help me get ready and did what she does best...be a great friend. Thanks also to my extremely patient husband and kids. They sure put up with a lot from me these past few months. Special thanks to Sarah and Amy who own the gallery. They were awesome!
Finally on May 15th the finished and framed portraits of this year's Women of Achievement (St. Louis) were unveiled in the reception ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton. All 10 portraits were displayed around the room for viewing by those attending the luncheon to honor 10 amazing women. If you click on the picture above you can see a larger version. Though I only have a few weeks to complete these each year I am so honored to do these portraits.
It was my honor to do pastel portraits again this year of each of the 10 Women of Achievement in St. Louis. I am finally finished with them and they are in the process of being framed. Next Tuesday at a luncheon to honor these amazing women at the Ritz Carlton, each woman's portrait will be on display for about 800 attendees and then the portraits will be presented to the women to keep. Above are each of the portraits done in pastel and measuring approximately 16 X 20 unframed.
Well this is my final painting for my gallery show tomorrow. It will be hanging at child-hand level and is still a little bit tacky. Yikes! I really am a Starbuck's addict even though I drink decaf and "Starbuck's" really should be my middle name. This is on a deep cradled hardboard and was done in oil. It measures 12" X 12". I'm looking forward to seeing some friends tomorrow and hopefully making some new ones too!
Here is my most recent oil painting of a child. This little doll was loaded with personality! Does it show? I hope so. This painting was a bit more painterly than usual, especially in the treatment of the background and dress. While a bit of a departure in that respect, I think it has a fresh feel and works well with the more detailed facial features. 16 X 20 oil on canvas.
I hope anyone within eye-shot will attend my gallery show! The more the merrier!
Still in process but getting closer on this portrait of two lovely young ladies. Maybe another day of work and it will be finished. This was also a large painting measuring 40 X 38. Oil on panel.
Here is a close-up of the tiger's face.
Meow. This is an "in process" view of my most recent undertaking, a 6' X 4' oil painting on prepared panel of (in case you can't tell) a tiger. After much research together with consultation with my lovely client we arrived at this composition. I knew this would be a difficult painting because of its size and complexity especially with regard to the composition but I had no idea how long it would actually take me. We are still fine tuning the details but I hope to have it completed very soon. I am anxious to see what type of frame my client will choose and with a little luck I will see it hanging in its final resting place. I wish I had more opportunity to paint large pieces like this. It has been a challenge and a learning experience.
I'm not as bright as I thought I was and I wasn't particularly impressed in the first place. I spent more time than I will ever admit trying to figure out how to enable RSS and Atom feeds. Further, I have been insanely jealous of other bloggers who have offered the option of e-mail blog updates. FINALLY, I believe I have figured out both and am now offering them (look to the right and down for both). My arm hurts as I have patted myself on the back several times in the last hour or so.
