From Photo to Final Drawing

Here is another drawing that I did before Christmas. My client wanted to capture a photo of his parents from when they were engaged to be married. His father had recently passed away and he wanted a drawing to share with his family. The original photo was taken in 1958 in Alexandria, Egypt. As the drawing progressed, my client & I discussed some slight deviations from the original like lightenening some of the shadows, but all in all, I think I captured the feel of that moment. He also wanted a more consistent look of the sign in the background (not weathered as much). It doesn't really show in my photo but I used a creamy ivory paper to make it look a little aged. I think he was pleased.

Oceana - Drawing Progression

"Oceana" is one of my latest drawing commissions. I thought some of you may enjoy the progression photos from beginning to the slight changes at the end.

"A Mother's Love" in the Blue Ridge Mountains

"A Mother's Love" was selected to be a part of the Fourth Annual Southern Artists Guild National Exhibition, October 15 through November 12, 2011. I'm excited to be a part of this show. Join me on Oct. 15 for the opening reception at The Art Center, Blue Ridge, GA from 5 - 7PM. The exhibition will be held in the historic Richard Low Evans Courtroom Gallery and coincides with the peak autumn foliage in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Georgia.  I love the mountains and this will give me a great opportunity to be there with all the beautiful Fall colors and the wonderful art. 

"A Mother's Love" is part of a series of paintings and drawings that I have been working on from Haiti before and after the earthquake. I felt very drawn to do something. My intention was to have an exhibition of many works this year, sell them and have the proceeds go back to Haiti. I haven't had as much painting time as I had hoped so the project will moved to next year. Someone said to me that they just can't help with anything for Haiti because it is so much of a lost cause and there is nothing anyone can do.  There are so many missions and non-profits really making a difference in the lives of the people there. They give the children hope and make them happy at least for a while.Your donations can help one child or help build a school, or bring fresh water to an area. You can make a difference more than you know. There are many ways to help - just a little goes a long way.  

"Zach at Ten" in 24th National Juried Art Exhibition

You are cordially invited to the 24th National Juried Art Exhibition sponsord by the South Cobb Arts Alliance, August 20 - October 3, 2011. The opening reception is Saturday, August 20, 5 -7 PM at the Mable House Arts Center Gallery, 5239 Floyd Road, Mableton, GA 30126. Gallery Website

Atlanta Fine Arts League 5th Annual Juried Exhibition

Atlanta Fine Arts League's 5th Annual Juried Exhibition "Georgia Only"   An exhibition of works by Atlanta Fine Arts League Members  and over 40 Georgia Artists

Please Join Us!      Opening Reception at the  Roswell Visual Arts Center Gallery   located INSIDE the Roswell Area Park located at   10495 Woodstock Road Roswell, GA 30075   August 12, 2011      7-9pm      Juror of Awards Damon Carter  "The Reds of Autumn" Oil 16x20 Damon Carter©

Three Paintings in Portrait Society of Atlanta Summer Juried Exhibition

"Emily", along with "Daniel" and "The Luther Children", has been selected as a finalist in the Portrait Society of Atlanta Summer 2011 Juried Exhibition June 9 - July 9. Peggy Baumgaertner, and accomplished artist, teacher and author,  served as the juror for this show. The exhibition will be at the Mable House Arts Center Gallery, 5239 Floyd Road, Mableton, GA 30126. Please join me for the opening reception Saturday, June 18, 5 - 7PM.

Painting Accepted in GA Artists Juried Exhibition

I delivered "A Mother's Love - Haiti" to Abernathy Arts Center this week for the GA Artists Juried Exhibition. The show runs May 13th through June 24th with the opening reception Friday, May 13th from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. I'm very happy to have my work included in this exhibit. It really is an eclectic collection of works from very modern and contemporary to realistic work like mine. The jurors for the exhibit are:

Stephanie Smith, Lecturer at the University of West Georgia and Founding President of the Atlanta Printmakers Studio.

Rick Berman, Potter, Author and Teacher at Pace Academy.

2011 Judge:

Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at High Museum.

254 Johnson Ferry Road, NW Sandy Springs, GA 30328 404.303.6172

"Art of Our Mothers" Exhibit at Quinlan

‎‎"Jenna - Haiti" and "Zach @ 10" have been selected as a finalist in "Art of Our Mothers, 2011." The exhibition runs April 14 - June 6, 2011 at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green Street, NE, Gainesville, GA 30501.
Please join me for the Opening Reception Thursday, April 14, 2011 from 5:30 - 7 PM.

All of the artists in this exhibit are mothers and they were asked to have their child or grandchild write about what it meant to have an artist for a mother. Below is what my son Zach wrote.

Zach Henry                                                                           3/26/2011

An artist for a mother…

Having a mother that’s an artist is pretty fun. I mean, you get to go to a lot of cool exhibits and travel a lot of places! I also benefit from the talent that was passed to me through her. I’m a pretty good artist I have to say. How can you not like it? Some times it does get hard though, because she has to paint and draw a good amount of the day. I don’t like it only because of the things that I benefit from; I like the art that she draws. I mean having a talented mother who paints and draws beautiful things is the only thing that I really like it for. I really love her and I love what she does! It’s great to have an artist for a mother.

2 Pieces in "Dogwood in Springtime" at AAC

‎"A Little Reassurance" and "South Carolina Sunset" have been accepted into "Dogwood in Springtime." The exhibition runs now through May 6 at the Atlanta Artists Center located at 2979 Grandview Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30305. This is always a special show for AAC every year.

Red Chalk Drawings for Valentine's Day

These are 2 of my Holiday Specials that I just finished. There may be some changes once their mom sees them. I've decided I will continue this special for Valentine's Day. It's perfect to have red drawings for Valentines.

My Latest Teen Portrait

This portrait was a lot of fun to do since I know these children/teens personally. It was fun to capture the their personalities. I loved the opportunity to paint a somewhat abstract painting in the background of a traditional portrait. The painting in the background was created in 1987 by Barbara Kerstetter, an artist whose work is collected worldwide. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this one. I can't wait to deliver it this weekend.

Daniel completed

This is the completed portrait. Daniel, 30x24, oil on linen. This is a better photograph than the earlier post but there are also changes in shading and other things.

Getting closer

This is the portrait I've been working on lately. I'm getting close to finishing it but I still see things I need to work on. Daniel is the brother of Maddalena, who I painted in December 2008. They both have the lightest blue eyes I've ever seen, as well as light blonde hair, fair skin and very red lips. I think I've definitely captured the likeness, just need to do some finessing. I'll post a better picture (I took this one) when it's completed. I'm also working on a double portrait that I will post when it gets further along.