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Portraiture

Dreaming of Beijing_edited.jpg

Dreaming of Beijing

"Paintings portraying the strength and beauty of the individual soul."

— Unknown

"Dreaming of Beijing"

13.25" x 13.25" | Oil on Canvas

I have known Liza since she was a teenager – inquisitive, talkative, and in the habit of speaking her mind. She was full of energy and ideas, and with that energy she often bounced from topic to topic in a conversation and from place to place within a room.

Once, I did a charcoal sketch of the teenage Liza and wanted also to paint her portrait. She was, however, was too full of adolescent energy to model for a painting in oil.

Liza has become a young woman – extremely intelligent, strong, and well-grounded; quite serious when circumstances warrant; yet still full of enthusiasm and love of life. She has also become an excellent model. Her depth of character influences her poses, and from her poses
I always find interesting, exciting, and unusual takes on life.

This portrait shows Liza in a contemplative mood, perhaps in a serious conversation about a serious subject. At any moment, however, she may change the mood entirely – relieving tension by finding humor, laughing whole-heartedly, and perhaps even giving a wink.

"Joyous" is a portrait of my daughter, Rachael. I caught a moment in time where she looked happy, carefree, relaxing outside in nature. Our children often come to us with difficult questions and concerns. This was a time where I felt my daughter was joyous and full of life and I wanted her to have that feeling forever.

Liza is the daughter of close friends of mine. My husband and I have watched her grow up into an extremely intelligent, strong, determined yet fun-loving young woman. She travels, spends time with family and friends and loves life. She is a great model. I always get a unique, exciting and interesting take on life from her poses. She is a person who looks you in the eye and does not back down, but will end with laughing wholeheartedly and giving you a wink.

Israel is the metaphor incarnate. This painting juxtaposes the ancient symbol with a modern reality. Female soldiers have been defending Israel since 1948 and today mandatory service in the IDF(Israel Defense /force) is as much a part of an Israeli woman's life as of the life on an Israeli man's.

I met this model about 10 years ago, while I was a student at The Atelier School of Fine Arts in Minneapolis and serving a two-year stint as model coordinator. She walked into the interview, and I said, “You’re hired.”

I have since painted her 8-10 times, and with strength being the common denominator. In one painting, for instance, she confronts a roaring lion – on equal terms – both she and the lion ferocious and fearless. In this portrait, her image encases a combination of force, focus, and beauty that is almost overwhelming.

Liza is the daughter of close friends. I have known the family for 15 years or more and have used Liza as model first as a teenager, then as a college student, and now as a young scientist.

Liza is an intelligent, strong-minded young woman who believes, with optimism and without hate, that the world can be a better place and that she has a part in helping make it so. A rarity in our times, she likes to debate thoughts, opinions, occurrences seeking to learn and inform, without rancor or disdain.

Lisa’s physical beauty is evident. It is my hope that, in this portrait, her inner beauty and inner strength are visible as well.

My daughter is one of my favorite models. I was taken by the ambiguous look in her eyes, suggesting but not further identifying an emotion involving doubt. With regard to artistic values, I was taken by the contrast of the paisley background – intricate, multichromatic in dulled hues – with the lustrous color of the model’s hair.

My daughter and I are very closely bonded, though distant geographically. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband (and Asha, their dog), so in person connection is far from regular. Then – Covid, for months completely shutting down any chance to fly in for a visit. Zoom is a remarkable and timely invention but is no substitute for a hug. I have missed my daughter daily and viscerally. Painting her portrait -- up close -- brought me close to her, if only in my mind, and gave me some solace.

This young woman passed away more than 10 years ago, while still in college, in a cycling accident. At the time, the loss was almost unbearable to her family and her friends

Last year, Audrey’s sister posted this remembrance:

It's been ten years since my sister died in a cycling accident. She was brilliant (in every sense of the word), wonderfully weird, witty, kind, generous and had the most infectious laugh I've ever heard. She loved to tell jokes and then laugh before you had enough time to get them, so really you were just laughing because it was impossible not to laugh with her.

It seems to me that, at the time of the accident, Audrey was just coming into her own; rebellious yet caring, discovering her love of color, art, music, love and laughter. A life with such promising, vital and unique beginnings … interrupted and unfinished.

This is my portrait of the bold, brilliant, and beautiful Audrey, with the painting purposely and permanently left unfinished.

My friend found an old photograph of himself taken 75 years ago as a young army recruit who survived World War II. To get into the army, which was still segregated, the young man lied about his age. (He was only 14.) In the photo and the painting, he seems not yet completely in synch with being a soldier.

The young man was honorably discharged in 1947 and, in his words, he “return[ed] to Evansville, Indiana, went back to Lincoln High School, and played football. The schools were segregated in those days …”

Eventually, the young man became a minister, with powerful insights and almost unbounded compassion. He has spent 65 years in the ministry, preached from many pulpits, been paster to many churches, including 14 years as a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis and St. Paul. He has served as chaplain to a state department of corrections and also to a professional basketball team.

Also during the past 75 years, the once young man has become a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, foster parent, religious leader, counselor, author, and in his words, “emissary for G-d.” At the age of 92 continues to study and expound the Bible, praise G-d, and exemplify loving kindness. He has been a close family friend for more than 25 years.

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