Yes, I have been “Missing in Action” the last few weeks,
and yes, I have been to the Miami airport (MIA)
I’ve also been to the Portland, Oregon Airport and the Antiguan Airport and the Charlotte airport too. I’ve been traveling a bit and spending time with my kids this summer. My son did well at Nationals for bouldering and took 31st place in the country! His sisters and I are very proud of him. My daughter flew in from Baltimore and we got to cheer him on. Then my son and I went off to Antigua to see my other daughter and my grandson, Koa. Such a fun trip and I was in full “grandma mode.” (can I have squished his little face any more?) oh, the giggles….8 months and so happy. And just when he would break into a smile when he saw me I had to leave and go back home. Hopefully, I will see him again at the holidays.
On the way to and from Antigua we had plane changes through Miami and had to wait a few hours for the next plane back to Greenville. So I found myself in a great place to “people watch.” People of all sizes, shapes and levels of stress running to or waiting for planes. All skintones, all manner of dress. It is interesting knowing how you can tell when someone is flying back home. Ever notice the way they dress matches the city on the gate? Cowboy hats going back to Texas. Miami natives wear a lot of gold, I noticed. And I can always tell those going back to PIttsburgh.
As as I sat there, studying faces, it reminded me of why I hate these types of “portrait” studies…
Yuk…..because as I looked around at these airports the truth is this… not many people that sat near me or took my tickets or ran around the airport fit into these dimensions. They had longer jaws or larger eyes. They had shorter foreheads or longer noses. And here is a crazy truth- even if I measured their faces perfectly and painted them exactly as I saw them there is still a chance I would create something that feels “off.”
Because the key to portrait painting (and I still struggle with this) is that a person is more than how someone looks. It is also about the aura they project, the “feel” of who they are and it is tough thing to capture. Believe me. Ever see someone without their glasses, or beard or with a new hair cut and yet instantly still know it is them?
Since I have been back I started painting again. Sometimes as much as 10 hours a day. And some of what I have created is crap. I admit it. Some of it still has potential and that what keeps me going. You see, I’m a bit distracted right now because painting portraits is intuitive as well as “accurate” and I believe my intuition is off right now. I am counting the days until my son is off to college. I am mIssing my grandson before I even got to really know him and then I got quick glimpses of the amazing people my daughters have become and then poof! They are gone.
My son is off to college in a few weeks so I will be an empty nester. No one to feed or take care of anymore except myself. I haven’t had that in over 29 years. (More, if you count my ex-manchild) So the silence is coming. I can feel it. So what do I do? I’m setting up workshops in Italy, Asheville, Sedona and the Caribbean. (more info to come on the last two) I plan on traveling to places I have always wanted to go with a group of creatives and it will fill me up. I will still be painting too, but I know my new situation will cause my work to look different. It always does. My art will settle back down in a new direction and I will hopefully get back to creating portraits. My kids are gone, but they are ok. And so am I.
And that is the way it should be. I fought to do the best I could for them. And in the end that is the one thing I can honestly say. I did the best I could. Now it is time to do the best I can for me.
So wise.
LOL Its somewhat refreshing to hear professionals admit to still occasionally creating “crap”. We all have distractions and periods we’re we aren’t on our A-game. Good reminder that it is ok and just something to root out the rough diamonds.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I love your insights on painting and life.
🙂
My good friend from 7th grade and college and I went on a nice cruise in April and now that I am older, I enjoyed more. I said….”I think I want to live on a ship”……..So, I am selling my condo, downtown Greenville, and have bought a villa on the ship. A new concept , as it sails the world and starts back around, every 3.5 years. Susie, my friend, and I KICKED THE TIRES FOR 8 days and here I go….she and I met in San Francisco and after sailing and docking, etc. We got off at Vancouver, went home to Arkansas, played a little golf…always LOVE TOP PART OF ARKANSAS…Ozark mountains. The ship was on CBS last Saturday morning. My son and grandson will go with me to help get set up, SO HAPPY.I have been giving away and selling all and just getting ready to put up for sell on FOR SELL BY OWNER. It is really hard to give up some of my things but the sweet people on ship said they felt same but it starts feeling great. There is more than enough to do when not in dock. Even a past AMBASSADOR TO SPAIN lives on it, he is soooo nice and same party as I. The real cerebral people give talks, NO POLITICAL, of course. A criminal lawyer talked on, ARE CRIMINALS FROM DNA OR ENVIRONMENT. We need an art talk, hint, hint ! They have a nice size art room and I plan on playing in there, often. They will do my clothes and clean my villa twice a week, YES! I’m sure I will have to be careful or I will gain, as the eating places are pretty and the food is tooooooooo good. I will see ya soon because I want to keep my space till I sell and paint some of the time….two months away from there and can’t believe it went so fast! Want to see grand baby’s pix!
Aww!!! Good for your chasing a dream and starting a new life! We must chat soon before you leave.
Love your post. So glad you got to spend time with that grandson!!!! What amazing thing your son did at nationals. Can’t wait to see what you create next❤️
🙂
Welcome back, and all the best to you on this next phase, Christine. Follow your heart.
Will do!
I wait patiently for your posts. I found this one most refreshing. When I first thought of really getting into portraits, I began to study anatomy. I have a dozen books on anatomy. From the skeleton to the facial features. I have several sketch books of just hands, and some with noses, eyes, ears, etc. I know I learned much, but I also learned from just “people” watching, that all of that study, (upward of 8 months of heavy continuous study.) That it was all subjective. People just are not the same. All of that study was for “averages”., Great to know, but take it with reservations. All of that study did do something worth gold though. It taught me to look and really see. You said it better than I can. Thanks again. Congratulations on the trip. Isn’t grandmotherhood just great!
I know what you mean regarding the “formula” approach to portraits. Daniel Greene simplified it: four very light lines on the surface (no oval!), creating three EQUAL sections. These represent the top of the forehand, to the eyebrows, to the bottom of the nose, to the chin. But it is merely a VISUAL TEMPLATE. Only about 60% of people will fit these widths. It merely helps the artist SEE where there subject would end up regarding these divisions. High forehead? (I don’t mean hair loss), Long nose? Short nose? etc. It also helps placement on your paper or canvas. Now, what’s next is width. Once one notates these lengths on the surface, from looking at the subject, one can now work from the middle out, to determine widths. Then begin. With practice, this entire thing can take about 30 seconds. No memorizing all these “formulas” etc. And these sizes can be adjusted at you go along. “Re-draw, and start back with the dark areas.” (BTW, my mantra that I came up with is “there is nothing ugly in nature, only ugly opinions. Some of Homer’s great paintings are of storms. I once drew a sitter who did not have a nose due to a girth defect. What I saw was dignity–someone sitting before a room of strangers without a nose!). What’s great about it is it can be used in landscape, cityscapes, whatever. Due to this, I can find the precise midpoint of anything by site. No room here to describe how I use this on the green when I golf, to easily see which ball is furthest or closest to the hole to determine who’s shot it is next. On a close call, guys waste time “stepping it off,” (measuring), when I can easily see it by sight. BTW, Congratulations on closing one chapter of your book of life and opening the next one. Sounds good…!
Yup. I use his method. And thanks!