Portrait Demo at Weiler House Fine Art Gallery

Last Saturday I was thrilled to present a live portrait demonstration at my local art gallery in Fort Worth, TX. I started painting around 5:00 p.m., and visitors could come and go as they pleased, or stay and watch the whole thing. I had an absolute BLAST! I always wondered how my piano-playing twin sister came to be such a performer who loves the spotlight, when I didn't enjoy performing at all. I'd start a recital piece and mess up the very beginning, then involuntarily say, "Oops!" Well, it turns out that I am a performer after all... I just needed a different kind of spotlight! :-) I've discovered that I love painting for an audience. I somehow managed to paint not one, but TWO portraits during the 4 1/2 hours that I demonstrated at the gallery, and I enjoyed ev… Read more »

Portrait Demo at Weiler House Fine Art Gallery

Clayton J. Beck, III Workshop Recap

I wish I had more time to write about this, but for now I'll have to give a quick recap. This month I had the great privilege of attending my second Clayton J. Beck, III workshop. This time it was here in Dallas at the Society of Figurative Arts , and I helped organize it, hire the models, even pick Clayton up from the airport. :-) He probably got tired of me after a while, but I sure enjoyed the one-on-one time, picking his brain on all things art-related. :-) Below are some pictures from the workshop, and my notes with some of the main points from his discourse that I found particularly helpful. - Every brush stroke you lay down is a reflection of your thought process. - Making the highlight on the upper eyelid too light will cause the model to look sleepy (ha!) - Don't add a bac… Read more »

Clayton J. Beck, III Workshop Recap

Precious Family Time

After two full weeks of GO GO GO, I am finally home, at my computer and in my sweats, enjoying a moment to take a breath. It's all been good stuff, but I'm the kind of person that needs to recharge after a period of craziness by spending time alone. So here I am, reflecting on everything that's happened in the last couple of weeks. On Sunday, my mom, younger sister, and youngest brother, flew down from Wisconsin and spent five days here in Texas visiting Emily and me (they just flew back this morning). It was wonderful to see them, and they enjoyed replacing snow and cold with 60 and 70-degree temperatures, blossoming trees, and blooming hyacinths. Part of my craziness from the last two weeks was that I wanted to finish a portrait of my brother Joseph, who I knew was coming to… Read more »

Precious Family Time