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Tag Archives: portraiture

2016-05-28 08.52.01

So Veronica doubles down on her faith in my artistry by giving me a SECOND set of oil pastels, this one made by Grumbacher, a fine and venerated brand. (Grumbacher and Liquitex were the only brands of acrylics I ever bought as an art student.) She says, “If one of your things ever ends up in the Louvre, maybe you’ll give me some credit . . . ?”

I will give her credit in advance. One fine day at least one of my oil pastels will hang in the Louvre, and I will owe it all to her.

But it won’t be this one, though there is some energy here, and a good choice made of dark paper. This one is overdone–I didn’t know when to stop–and still unbearably clumsy.

Smart Pooch

Such a pup

Makes us so

Avid to go

Romp, etc

Thru Truth

2016-05-23 12.18.23

I am really proud that this one exists. First, I had cards but no pencil or pen. I went out of my comfort zone and asked a fellow train waiting person if she had a pen or pencil. The sweet, thinnish, abuelitaesque lady handed over a pen, refusing payment. (Before we got on the train I wrote THANK YOU and my signature, so at least she has a Thank You card.)

On the ride to work I first did JONES on the left side, KELLY on the other. Then I wrote and then drew as fast as I could scribble, with no photo source nor other reference material-just me, the card, and a ballpoint pen I’d just met.

Wotds:

Just a nod 2 2 exceptional folk

O for a punch/line–pray tell us the joke

Nothing so doing-got nothing 2 sell

Effortless focus has set for a spell

Spirit then rises swellingly–GRACE & GRACE live (d) tellingly

This is the second Maria at Matt’s that I have portraitized, thus the “II.” This Maria is not only an energetic and enthusiastic Manager, but a hardcore runner as well. (Stay tuned for another runner, the trophy-winning Lucinda, later in this series.) Maria will run twelve miles in the morning, then come and do a ten-hour shift, performing multiple roles from bussing tables to adroitly dealing with “I want to talk to the manager” issues. She has done it all, including three Boston Marathons and numberless other footraces, and she has well earned my respect and loyalty.

2016-05-19 11.24.21

Today I get to recycle a pun I made way back when, in a blog post far, far away, wherein I had Humphrey Bogart morphing into Mark Hamill and saying “Here’s Luke-ing at you, Kid.” Here’s why: my co-worker Veronica expressed her gratitude for my gift of her portrait by giving me an oil-pastel set she’d bought, intending to use, but not much came of it. My gratitude for the gift of the set, which is EXACTLY what I need at this stage of my transitioning-to-color career, was expressed by the offer to do in oil pastel either a landscape or a still life or a portrait of anyone on Earth. She chose the portrait, and she sent me a photo of Luke, her super-smart pooch. So this morning I warmed up for the pastel portrait by doing this card:

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Veronica has not been at our restaurant long, but she has made a big impression on me. She works hard, being chock-full of hop-to-it. She is dependable and uncomplaining. And she started something with me, performed when one or the other of us is leaving for the day, that is most endearing: she shakes my hand vigorously and says some encouraging thing, like “It’s been a pleasure working with you” or “Have fun and see you on Friday.”

When I asked her for a brief summation of her philosophy of life, and gave her the examples of Erika (“Live each day as if it were your last”), Michael (“Living the Dream”) and Martin (“Boredom Kills”), she asked for some time to think about it. Later she handed me a slip of paper with her answer. She wanted to be represented by “Dieu n’est pas l’auteur de la mort.” This roughly translates to “God is not the author of Death.” She said she saw it in Paris while visiting the Parisian cloisters.

I told her I wanted this one to be the best of the series to date, and I think it is. She deserves better, though! 🙂

Veronica 051216

2016-05-04 15.03.53

slow, please; stop, please; turn around, please

optimism needs to be on a leash
for if not
it is unleashed
and what-the-hell holds sway

a man runs for president
and he is famous for his infidelities
and his bankruptcies
and he wrote or had written the art of the deal
and he seems near-identical to the uncaring jerkmeisters
catspaws of the corrupt bank-executive predators
whose fraudulence brought down the 2007 economy
and who got off scot-free

there is vast proof that he lies constantly
and his supporters say “ah well,
all politicians lie”
while he brands an opponent “lyin’ ted”
schoolyard bully style

many years ago there was an english rock band, the who
who did a song called “won’t be fooled again”
but the last line was “meet the new boss,
same as the old boss”

gaaaah
reason and logic may once more fail to carry the day
because there are neckless optimists with distractive shotguns
and a bedrock-solid sense of entitlement
who think letting the fox run the henhouse is a great idea
and will make america great again

 

prince is dead. rumored, last i heard, of an overdose. tomorrow i’ll try a portrait of him, and a better one of amy.

my reaction to prince’s death was to seek, find, and watch AMY, a heartbreaking documentary. the portrait- attempt i made below was sourcedwith a freeze-frame from AMY. it is not good enough.

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Caroline is a real challenge to portray. Her smile is so dazzling it leaves an afterimage on the retina. This is my third try at her, and I had to resort to saying depressing things like “I put my hand in a plateful of yuck” and “Bet you’ll work a double shift” to tone that smile down. It’s STILL dazzling . . .

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