Kate Cleaves Portrait Progress

Kate Cleaves sat for me again today. I had worked more on her portrait from her photographs and needed to look at her face in person one more time. Today I told Kate that I felt compelled to make the shadows on her face and hands very blue. And when I looked at her artwork on her website and saw the blue Krishna, it made me want to make her even more blue! She then told me that she has had dreams in which she is blue, and that her boyfriend was blue, too! So that sealed the deal - she stays blue. Kate also told me of her strong connection to ravens, so I am working on weaving them into the piece. I still need to resolve the background, but I'm pretty much done with the figure...

Portrait of Kate Cleaves (in progress)

pastel, oil, acrylic, charcoal and colored pencil on Rives BFK, 29" x 41"

Tim Clorius

Portland painter Tim Clorius sat for me yesterday in his workspace at The Artist Studio where we are neighbors. I worked on his portrait for a couple of hours then took these photos which I will use as reference material to complete the drawing. Tim has work up now in Whitney Artworks Walker Terrace Window and will be in a two man show at Whitney Artworks main gallery this coming April!

An excerpt from Tim's website:

Tim Clorius was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany. He received his education in fine arts and painting from the School of Visual Arts in New York and the Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine, where he currently lives and works as a painter.
Tim brings a postmodern sensibility to his work which is frequently influenced by his love for graffiti art and his life as an aerosol artist by the name of SUBONE. His interest in exploring the potentials as well as the boundaries that exist in regards to the visual and social “hybridization” of more traditional forms of contemporary art and graffiti art has been a major theme in his public works as well as in his studio practice.
Working with students in Maine since 2002 SUBONE has become synonymous with the advocacy of the potentials graffiti art possesses to enhance communities and foster civic engagement.

More about this portrait soon!

O8amaRT

Tatyana Fazlalizedeh

Xtrapop

I can't find the artist for this campaign poster (what's with that apostrophe?)

cbtscloset @ etsy

Shepard Fairey

Raphael Lopez

Ray Noland

CM Laster

Robert Indiana

Whoa, wouldn't I love to do Barack Obama's portrait...think he'd come sit in my studio for 2 hours? Dream, dream dream dreeam!

Some Obama art images found on-line. Also, if you haven't seen this already, check it out. Some Obama inspired film making from Ron Howard. Hilarious!

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cc65ed650d/ron-howards-call-to-action-from-ron-howard-and-henry-winkler

And here's a terrific Obama art blog:

http://www.obamaartreport.com/

Costume Birthdays

Homemade masks created by Kaitlyn and Cory...pretty neat, huh?

Some pics from Lisbeth's birthday party last year. With her birthday falling so near to Halloween, we've had some great costume bashes over the years. One of the most fun costume birthday parties we ever had for Lisbeth was the year that we rented a small movie theatre and watched Lisbeth's favorite movie, Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Everyone came dressed as a character from the film! Lisbeth loved it.

Golden Birthday, Pink House

Lisbeth's pink house.

Milkweed and Lisbeth.

A bad photo of a portrait that I did of Lisbeth and Milkweed in 2002 (it's under glass in a frame - I really must get someone to take a good shot of it for me...)

Mommy and Lisbeth.

"All the things of Milkweed..."

Lisbeth and Milkweed inspired art by Portland artist Allison Baird: Prayer Card

Kitty kisses.

Milkweed (the blue eyed, pink nosed, white cat) is the center of my daughter Lisbeth's universe. She is Lisbeth's guardian angel, best friend, and steadfast companion. Lisbeth has special needs and lives independently in a house in Topsham that is staffed round the clock by Independence Association, an amazing agency located in Brunswick, Maine. We were able to transition Lisbeth to her house just after she graduated from Brunswick High School at age 21 (at BHS, folks with special needs have the option to attend high school for 6 years). When Lisbeth first became ill, we never imagined that she would one day be able to graduate from school and live away from us on her own. It still feels miraculous. It took years of work and planning with the help of a large transition team. We will be forever grateful to all the people and agencies who have supported us in Lisbeth's journey and to all who continue to support us. God Bless them, EVERY ONE.

Like many adults, Lis enjoys having her own space and making it the way that she wants it (and I can sum it up in one word. PINK.). And she delights in all her knick-knacks and photographs of Milkweed in fancy frames. Lisbeth's house was gold when she moved in and she wished that it could be pink. Alas, even though she pays half of the mortgage each month (and her house mate, a young man with autism, pays the other half) the house is owned by IA and this is not an option. Lis gets her wish temporarily, though, because right now IA is tearing off the old siding on Lisbeth's house and has revealed the Pepto Bismol Pink insulation before the new beige siding gets installed! (Yoo Hoo! Paging Christo!)

These pictures were taken Monday on Lisbeth's Golden Birthday - she turned 27 on the 27th!

Further Extension of Self

So while my students were doing their self-portraits (see the last 2 posts) I took a few photos of my reflection in the big windows of the MECA classroom where I teach. Being a teacher is an extension of my self, and Congress Street, which you see in my reflection, is also an extension of who I am. During the week I walk that street daily to go to my studio and to teach (I like how my figure is aligned with the yellow stripe of the road in the first photograph...)

I also started this tempera and pastel self-portrait looking at my reflection in the night window.