My
first portrait in oil was a posthumous portrait of my grandmother. I had never painted a portrait in oil before,
and I completed the project in 2 weeks.
I used a photo reference but it was mostly from memory. My grandmother had helped raise me till I was
about 7 years old and I had not seen her for 17 years, after I left her to move
to America. My heart still aches with
regret that I missed my chance to see her one last time, but I felt like I had
her with me again as I painted the contours of her face. That was when I fell in love with
portraiture.
The
great joy of painting people is to preserve the unique personality for
posterity. For a time I painted with that in mind, but I wanted to challenge
traditional portraiture by keeping the subject in a more abstract background
that leaves it open for interpretation.
I want to keep challenging myself to keep the tradition of portraiture
but with modern interpretations. The
painting, however, is just the beginning as each piece inspires an interesting
conversation either with the subject or a viewer. I love the stories my painting inspire and in
turn I try to select subjects that inspire those stories.
I'm here to make new artist friends and to give my work more exposure.
Exhibitions
and League Memberships:
I’ve displayed at the Historical Old Town Hall, Fairfax, VA; Village Plaza
Art Gallery, Fairfax, VA; Commonwealth Wine and Polo Show; Artdc Gallery;
Design Studio Art Gallery, and Cheryl Edwards Studio, Hyattsville, MD; Spring 2010 Gallery Walk, Manassas, VA. I’m a member of the Art League of Alexandria;
Fairfax Art League; National Oil & Acrylic Painter’s Society; The Portrait
Society of America.