"Ben and Leslie" (oil on stretched linen; 20" x 16") sold

sold

The handsome groom Ben commissioned me to paint a wedding portrait for his wife Leslie as the first anniversary gift. He was also gallant, insisting that he didn't care about how he looked and that Leslie should look beautiful. I did care about how he looked too. I did my darned best despite the less than desirable reference photo. He was a pleasure to work with. I hope Leslie loves his thoughtful gift and wish them a long, happy marriage!

Reference photo

"Master of the Hunt" (oil on stretched canvas; 20" x 16")

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Claire, from France, is a sculptor who occasionally models. Here she is dressed as the Master of the Hunt. By the way, she is not the master herself, but hunts nevertheless in Leesburg, VA You can see a bit of her black top hat, but unfortunately her long, slender, ballerina-like legs in black boots are cut off in this half-length portrait. The painting was done from life during Danni Dawson's portrait painting class at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA.

"The Bennetts" (oil on stretched canvas; 20" x 16") gift

gift

I have been working on this important double portrait for three months.  It has been an emotional experience as I was saying goodbye to both the former US Senator Bob Bennett and Mrs. Bennett, whom I have known for almost ten years.

Senator Bob passed away this spring after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.  Mrs. Bennett is moving back to Utah to be near her family.  The portrait is a farewell gift to express my deepest condolences and gratitude for her friendship and loving musical education for my only child.  Having lost her grandparents as a baby, my daughter became attached to Mrs. Bennett, not just as a flute teacher, but as a surrogate grandmother.  We will miss her very much.

"Clare" (oil on stretched canvas; 16" x 12")

I was happy to be back in Danni Dawson's portrait painting class yesterday.  The beautiful model who was dressed in a tutu got me all excited.  Regretting not having a larger canvas, I finished off a 16" x 12" one as a sketch.  Next week I will work on a more decent-sized canvas for real!

By the way, Danni gave me a high rating to the spring break homework, "Primavera".  She found in the painting nothing to criticize and everything to praise!

"Primavera" (oil, 18" x 24")

"Viola Solo" (oil on stretched canvas; 14" x 18") sold

sold

Aldwin is a high-school senior and talented musician who plays the viola, guitar and piano and also sings in the school choir.  As I was listening to his solo performance of Max Bruch's "Romanze for Viola" during the winter concert of the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra at the beautiful auditorium of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, I was impressed by his poised mastery of his instrument.

"Primavera" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 24") nfs

nfs

Danni Dawson, my portrait painting teacher, gave the class an assignment for the spring break--either a large still life or a 3-4' full-length portrait in outdoor setting.  The operative word was BIG.  I considered painting a self-portrait, because I have a perfect reference photo.  But where do I hang a 40"-long painting?

Then, I thought of the picture of spring flowers with my darling daughter in the background that I took three years ago.  Get two birds with one stone, as it is both a still life and an outdoor portrait!  How big?  A 24" x 30" or a 22" x 28" canvas would make the girl's face larger than life size; do I want to see it day in day out in the family room, no matter how much I love my baby?

So I settled on a 18" x 24" canvas, with a 6 1/2"-long head of my daughter.  It took many sessions to finish the portrait/still life.  The subject, my husband, and myself are all happy with it.  We'll see what Danni has to say about the painting.

By the way, why did I title the painting "Primavera"?  Because it is about spring--the season and the phase in a life!

"Civil War Union Lieutenant Colonel" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 14")

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You may remember Steve, a military history buff and reenactment actor who also models.  I have painted his head-and-shoulders portrait a few weeks ago.  I decided to paint him again in a half-length format to show his Civil-War Union lieutenant colonel uniform with his sword, buckle and all. 

Many paintings go through "I can't take this crap of a painting any more"; I hit the wall in the last week's session.  I, however, persevered and was able to finish it yesterday.  I could have developed those authentic buttons more, but was afraid of them distracting the viewer from Steve's thoughtful, weathered face with a wonderful beard.  So I suggested rather than defined them.  I rather like the portrait.  How about you?

"Peter and Melissa" (oil on stretched canvas; 20" x 16") gift

gift

We have a family tradition: whenever someone gets married, he gets a double wedding portrait from the family artist, myself.  I thought when one of my husband's nephews got married last summer, I would give him a nice toaster and call it quits.  No such thing!  The expectation was so high that I couldn't dare without devastating the groom.  I included some step-by-step pictures that are not high-quality, but still give you an idea of how I approached this important project. 

Step 1: The drawing already looks like the love birds!

Step 2: Peter is my husband's nephew and namesake. My husband is known as Peter the Great in the family.

Step 3: It looks like a spring wedding, doesn't it? The lovely outdoor wedding was actually an August one. We dodged a bad weather, which came in the evening when we were partying inside. A lucky couple!

Step 4: The bride in her dress without a veil looked like a radiant Greek goddess!

Step 5: This bearded young man is one of the twins, whom I have known since he was eight. He is my favorite nephew--kind, thoughtful, smart, and quietly funny. He reminds me of his uncle, my husband.

"Melodious" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") nfs

nfs

This portrait of my daughter practicing the flute started out as a black-and-white exercise for Danni Dawson's portrait painting class.  I decided to turn it into a regular portrait in color.  It is a small painting for a half-length portrait with a musical instrument and all!  By the way, she was playing C. Chaminade's "Concertino"--a romantic, dramatic, and difficult piece.  She is enraptured in the beauty of the music!

"Flute Practice"