A Trip Home; Fresh Inspiration

I just arrived home late Sunday night from a week-long trip to Wisconsin. Emily and I drove up there together and spent some quality time with family, getting to see our brand new nephew (as well as our 2 and 4-year-old nephew and neice), our two teenage brothers, and our college girl sister, Cara, and our parents' new dog - all the while enjoying an escape from the 90+ degree weather in Dallas! Wisconsin has gotten so much rain in the month of June that everything looks incredibly lush and beautiful, and unlike Dallas, it cools down at night to a pleasant 65 degrees. It was wonderful to be out in the country again; my parents have 80 acres of land, complete with meadows, woods, streams, and a scenic bluff, where my siblings and I have countless memories of exploring, hiking, and rock… Read more »

A Trip Home; Fresh Inspiration

"Twin Arts," Part 3

The big project is coming along nicely. I think Emily's and my faces are just about done. I was shocked the other day when I stood on the opposite side of the room and looked at Emily's portrait. It's really her! And the fun thing about it is that her face is mostly in the shadows, so there are very few details. Meanwhile, the rest of her head and body are lit up by the light. My face is turned towards the light, while the rest of my body is mostly in shadow. It's an interesting dynamic... The latest progress, besides faces, includes starting the palette, working on the carpeting, and the dresses. And finally, Emily was able to come over and model for me! There are many subtle details especially in her back that I was able to work on. Here is a picture of the work in progr… Read more »

"Twin Arts," Part 3

"Twin Arts", Part 2

Even though I have other projects going right now, I've been working almost entirely on "Twin Arts." Usually I have to move on to something else after several hours, because my painting needs time to dry. Well, this painting is so big that I can work on it in sections without having to set it aside! With the block-in complete, and the addition of color, I started on a new layer that continues to refine my drawing, values, and color temperature, allowing myself to use more and more paint as I go so that my lights get really built up (although you won't ever see huge globs of paint on my canvases - I still paint relatively thinly!). Unlike the most traditional of classical artists, who focus on nailing their drawing before committing to color, I tend to correct things as I… Read more »

"Twin Arts", Part 2

"Twin Arts" Part 1

Last week I began my most ambitious project to date, a 48" x 40" double portrait of my twin sister and me (which I explain in last month's newsletter ). This painting has been a long time in coming. Emily and I were actually apart for about two years after we graduated college...I was working in Madison, WI, waiting for my husband to finish school before we got married, and she was living out in Colorado as a flight attendant. Somehow God brought us back together again, a little over a year ago, and we now both reside in the Dallas area. The benefits of seeing her almost weekly have been extended to my art career, as she has modeled for me several times. This portrait is no exception, but I feel that it's particularly meaningful because she and I have something truly spec… Read more »

"Twin Arts" Part 1