THE FACE OF VENTURA project gets underway for 2011...
I painted my third sitter yesterday in a three hour sitting at my cold studio for what will be a total of 52 people painted over two years to reflect the current day face of this charming old mission seaside town in California.
Each face and the sitter's story will appear in each edition of The Ventura Breeze http://www.venturabreeze.com/
So many thanks to The Breeze publisher Sheldon Brown for his incredible support getting it all going and helping create this challenge and to my artist mind, a living art project. We have had some fun stimulating chats getting it off the ground.
Sheldon and I, along with the newspaper readership, will decide who gets to be painted. My aim is for it to be in an interactive art project in this town, with young people also involved in an educational way, watching not only the portraits being painted but hearing the stories and thoughts of the sitters, some incredible people from ALL walks of life living and working in Ventura.
Read more about it here for now until I can link it to The Ventura Breeze.
Read about the first sitter here:
I also plan to use social media to show the drawing and painting stages of each sitter's sketch, in an educational way, after it has made it's debut in The Breeze.
Wishing to protect my sitter's privacy this week until the sketch appears in the paper, I post a sketch I did of said sitter in my sketch book, a sharp-minded environmentalist, the night before the sitting and then the drawing block-in the next day at the actual sitting.
Sittings from life with real people, not models, are a challenge to the artist. One must talk AND paint. One must do a fairly o.k. job with paint if the sketch is then to appear in a newspaper. My plan is to make NO changes to the faces of the sitter after he/she leaves the sitting. THE DIRECT INTERACTION BETWEEN US being the most important point. My art ego will have to adjust to this! The sitter is shown the world of the portrait artist, the portrait artist is shown the world of the sitter. And no money changes hands. What a concept!
Only four days to go in my daily drawing challenge to myself for 2010...I taste victory and a glorious drawing sunset going down on this rather large art event in my art life drawing every day no matter what - for which I have received tremendous support from all over the world. Thank you!
Just a few nay-sayers, who said what was the big deal about drawing every day anyway. They did that and always had. Hmmm... No-one does something EVERY single day in a year apart from brush their teeth. It is NOT as easy as it sounds. But more about that later.
Now I just need to focus on eating no carbs. so I can get into those silver sparkles on that dress in this photo for New Year's Eve. I will be drawing my last drawing for the challenge at 12.10 am New Year's morning in said dress.
4 comments:
Pooh on the Nay Sayers!!! You certainly don't need negative energy from anyone!! they are jealous and I would be happy to send them a Sympathy card!!! Your challenge shows great strength of character/integrity/honor to your creative spirit!!! What a lesson for your daughters!! they , as are all of your friends, are truly proud of your wonderful accomplishment and Thank you for sharing with us this challenge!!!
Johanna...if ever i need inspiration or a good kick in the behind...I pop over here to visit you. You rock Girlfriend!!! what an awesome project you are doing, as an artist and for the community. And to think you are almost there...the end of your most magnificent self-challenge...again you way rock girlfriend!!
I wish to add my positive energy to counter whatever negativity may be out there. There are those who don't "get" the significance of a personal challenge. You're a gift to the world, Johanna, and the completion of your challenge has enhanced that gift.
The Ventura Project sounds awesome--a great concept indeed.
And the silver sparkles dress rocks!
congrats,
faye
Post a Comment