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Have you ever observed the face of someone who is lost in a book? One day last winter I caught my husband reading Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods during the middle of a work day in our pottery … Continue reading
Portrait painters through the ages need to respond to who is in front of them. This portrait had more detail about the face before I showed it to the subject, a friend. Her comment was that it made her look like a vampire. Although I liked some aspects of the face, I have made it a practice in this Bookface project to be willing to fail to try to make a painting better. So I went home, wiped out the face and will try again.
Come to one of the Bookface: Portraits of People reading books exhibits in our region’s libraries to find the out who this mysterious woman is. Or should I leave it as it is?
I can tell you that she was reading a book of blessings by John O’Donohue, whom we both like very much. Here is a link of John O’Donohue reading one of these blessings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rYnWCophIM
Did Sherlock Holmes quote this phrase from one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories or was it only found in Hollywood movies? Is the quote from Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, ‘Before the game is afoot, thou still let’st slip’ or from Shakespeare’s King Henry V, act 3 scene I: ‘The game’s afoot: Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ ?
One of my earliest artistic influences was Japanese prints. The landscapes remain still in my mind.
However, the hairstyles from the Edo period are fabulous: sleek sculptured hair in imaginative forms.
Imagine my delight when I walked into a classroom and spotted this engineered hairstyle. Fortunately she got the short straw when it came to choosing one of the students to paint. Japanese school girl look translated into American style with poise and grace.
There is a floating quality that reoccurs in my portraits of people reading. I am working quickly to get the essence of the reader and don’t pay attention to the rest of the room.
Does it suggest the disembodied world of imagination that readers inhabit, where we travel through time and space? Andrea thoughtfully settled on her couch to read, having ascertained that my series could use someone reading in a prone position.
Steve the architect asked he if could work as I painted his portrait. He is reading plans of a water plant project on a MacBook Pro.
I had intended to disallow any digital readers in my homage to people reading books with paper pages and hard covers; impossible to hold my barrier against the digital flood.
Daren’s fame as a gardner, a reader and a wonderful teacher has long spread through southwest Minnesota. I was delighted to discover that he and I have similar taste in children’s literature. He forgot my presence quickly as he settled into his wonderful high-backed wing chair that looks to be the most comfortable reading chair I have ever seen.
Mary was not particularly excited about having her portrait painted. I usually try to spare people this opportunity if they are not keen on it. However, some people are unfailingly generous when asked to help. Mary is this kind of person. She brought one of the brilliantly colorful quilts that she makes. I wish you could see the geometric spiral quilting stitch that she invented for this piece. It was a fine overcast day so we took the willow love seat out into my Japanese garden. Mary also loaned me the book she was reading. Incorrigible.
In September I happened to meet Cindy Hendrickx, the librarian in Appleton. I was impressed to hear that she was hosting a teen Book Club there. She liked my Bookface project. We cooked up a plan for me to do a portrait of one of the teenage readers as a demonstration at the Appleton Library.
Harrison showed up with a book in progress: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. Cindy suggested that if we wanted to portray Harrison with a digital reader she would be happy to download this book for Harrison and loan him her digital reading device. Harrison was game and adapted instantly to the new technology. Cindy gave me the information on how I can get audio books that I can download from our library system!
I begin the painting demonstration with a quick charcoal sketch. This shows the onlookers of mostly kids that scribbling is often the best way to start a drawing or painting. It generates lines in an easy gesture that is often more accurate than trying to get that single perfect line. It locates the subject in 2-dimensional space and helps identify problems with the composition.
Harrison did a great job of sitting quietly and I got most of his portrait done in the hour-long demonstration. Now do you see why I love libraries so much? You never know what you will learn when you go through those doors.
