An early instructor told me my drawing skills were good, but that I wasn’t “seeing”. It took me a long time to understand her meaning.
Observing people in their environments and translating that image is a skill developed over a lifetime. I understand how people interact with others and with their surroundings, how a warm sunny place will make a person happily sit for a while; then distill this scene into its nuanced component shapes, colors, values and gestures.
I now realize that truly ‘seeing’ is not literal; to ‘see’ is multi-sensory. Even though I can faithfully — even beautifully — render a subject, that painting will not be complete until I can ‘touch’ the skin or fur of my subject, until I can ‘smell’ the air around them, when I can ‘hear’ what is going on in the scene — and when my audience can too. I strive to ‘see’ the scene so that every individual viewing my artwork can feel it’s emotion as if it were their own.
Thanks to Thunderpussy for letting me use their song Velvet Noose, even though I didn’t ask them.
American Artists Professional League 2020 On Line Members Show ‘Favorite Things’, “Brad”, 1st Place Pastel Award
Arnot Art Museum, 76th Regional Exhibit, 235 Lake Street, Elmira, NY. The exhibit will be on view from 16 March – 14 June 2019. For more information go to ArnotArtMuseum.org.
2018 Northeast Regional Pastel Exhibition at View Arts, 3273 State Route 28, Old Forge, NY. The exhibit will run from June 23 – July 29, 2018. For more information go to ViewArts.org. This piece has been awarded Second Place.
Portrait in the Classic tradition. Super soft Mount Vision pastels and soft Girault pastels on sanded paper; Canson Mi-Tiente Touch. 14.5×21″
Finalist in the Gateway International Painting Competition, September 2017.
Award of Merit, The Guild of Boston Artists 2017 Regional Juried Exhibition. Please view the exhibit at The Guild of Boston Artist in the President’s Gallery, Newbury Street, Boston, September 9 – 30, 2017. For more information please go to GuildofBostonArtists.org.
BoldBrush Online Painting Competition, Outstanding Pastel Award February 2017 and FAV 15% (jury’s favorite 15% of entries).
The Model |pastel on paper | 2016 | 17.75″ h x 14.75″ w
Every painting presents a new challenge in some fundamental way. The Model started with a new material I had never tried before – sueded paper. There are subtle differences in the way soft pastel is applied to each substrate. Looking for the inspiration for the pose, I found a fashion show featuring a woman with an impassive look, turning away from the viewer, wearing a thickly knit sweater. The juxtaposition between her expressionless demeanor and the warm sweater appealed to me. Additionally, her exceptionally elongated features forced me to really study this particular head instead of falling back on familiar anatomical details. Multiple light sources further complicated the subject. I love challenges, and this painting rolled several challenges into one very enjoyable experience.
Mount Vision soft pastels on Canson toned paper from a photo taken on the Back River in Maine. Capturing the rhythm of the water was challenging. The man may be clamming or worming, I don’t really know. 10 x 16
ARTinME, 2018 Boothbay Regional Art Foundation show, located at 1 Townsend Avenue, Boothbay Harbor, ME. The exhibit will run from October 14 – November 12, 2018. For more information go to boothbayartists.org.
“A wonderful capture of the translucent subtitles of water and reflections. I especially liked the use of a limited palette. Excellent composition.” – Michael Godfrey, Art Muse Judge for April 2018
A pencil drawing (c.1983) of my grandmother from a photo when she was about three years old. Her mother was a seamstress and made all of the clothing she wore. In a Brooklyn doorway about 1920.
The Arnot Art Museum houses a world class collection of realist paintings and sculpture. I’m humbled to have “Brad” included in their 76th Regional Exhibition, opening 15 March. Please attend this outstanding show featuring 81 works of contemporary realism. The exhibit is on view from 16 March to 14 June 2019 at the Arnot Art Museum, 235 Lake Street, Elmira, NY. For more information go to arnotartmuseum.org.
Brad aka Two Scotches In | pastel on sanded paper | 14.5×21
American Women Artists Associate with Distinction member, Jodie Kain, is honored to announce “The Model” has been selected to be included in the Steamboat Art Museum’s exhibit “Looking West”. The exhibition is open from May 24 through September 14 2019. Please attend “Looking West”, featuring selected works by women artists, at the Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
I am honored to have my painting “God Is My Judge”, modeled by my good friend Daniel, included in the 2018 Guild of Boston Artists Annual Regional Juried Exhibition. The Guild is located at 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. The exhibit will run from September 8 – 29, 2018. For more information go to GuildofBostonArtists.org.
I am honored to have the portrait of my husband Brad, and “Light Embrace“, modelled by my good friend Carol and her kitty Beacon, included in the 2018 Northeast Regional Pastel Exhibition at View Arts, 3273 State Route 28, Old Forge, NY. The exhibit will run from June 23 – July 29, 2018. For more information go to ViewArts.org.
What a thrill to be selected to show “Boothbay Afternoon” and “Clammer” at this year’s ARTinME show. Please attend the exhibit at the Boothbay Regional Art Foundation, 1 Townsend Avenue, Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The exhibit will run from October 14 – November 12, 2018. For more information go to boothbayartists.org
“Boothbay Afternoon” | charcoal & white conté | 16″x11.5″
I am honored to have the portrait of my husband Brad included in the Annual Regional Juried Exhibition of The Guild of Boston Artists, Newbury Street, Boston. The exhibit will run from September 9 – 30, 2017. For more information go to GuildofBostonArtists.org.
“Brad” 2017 Guild of Boston Artists Annual Regional Juried Exhibition, Award of Merit
