Santa Reba

We're just back from an emotional trip to West Texas. We were invited to participate in the spreading of the ashes of one of our dear friends and fellow travelers to Big Bend. Lynn Bell was a wonderful lady who loved this part of Texas--the part that appeared in the movie Giant. Lynn was the epitome of a Texas gal--strong willed and spirited, not afraid to tell it like it is. She was also a redhead. Which inspired me to do a retablo for her in which Reba McEntire appeared as Saint Reba. That further inspired me to do a portrait of Santa Reba. I wouldn't ordinarily present someone living as a saint, but as you all know, Reba has been enshrined in the Grand Old Opry and that is as close to sainthood as you get in this world. Pray for us, oh patron saint of redheads.

The One and Only

Well, after getting five portraits in last year's Frisco City Hall show, only one got into the new show. (I think they're getting bored with my reductive mug shot approach.) I was happy they picked this "self-portrait" of Modigliani. I also did one of his companion, Hebuterne, but that didn't make the cut. For those not familiar, upon his death she threw herself from a high-storied window to her death. In photos, she looks pretty but intense, her face drawn, even before M. got his hands on it and stretched it out even further. In real life, she does not have tiny red eyes like a rat. What do you think he meant by that?

Capturing Jesus

When I was a kid, I used to ask my Mom "What color is God?" Well, of course, God's son, Jesus, was blue eyed and fair skinned--at least he was in our church. I've attached a picture of another Jesus, the Mexican revolutionary, Jesus Rodriguez. He was not blue eyed nor fair-skinned. Like all good Mexican revolutionaries he was captured and later released. I originally did this portrait without the banner but added it later in honor of present-day Mexican votive paintings. And, hey, I got to use the GOLD paint because of it. By the way, "Gold" was the first answer my Mom gave me to my childhood question. God, Jesus and Buddha all deserve gold, don't you think?

Nostalgia Show

An artists' organization in Dallas was having a Nostalgia Show which puzzled me for awhile as to what I could enter. Portraits are portraits and tend to be timeless. So I didn't think I had anything in my inventory to enter. Then I thought of a photo I took of Jan when we were staying in a bed and breakfast in North Carolina back in the 1990s. The B&B was said to be haunted which seemed to add some weight to the image the camera picked up. Anyway, the photo was accepted to the show which will travel to Frisco in July. In all my years of picture-taking, I have had only a handful of "winners" but I think this is one of them. You can decide for yourself. Regardless, I don't intend to trade the paintbrush for the camera anytime soon.

Me and Modigliani

Took a fabulous book out of the library the other day with big reproductions of Modigliani's portraits. The book talked of all the influences on his work from Italian painting to African sculpture. It also talked about how his portraits came more from inside him than from the person sitting across from him. (I'll remember to tell that to the next person who doesn't recognize themselves in one of my portraits!) Also back from North Carolina where I stumbled on a landscape painter with a great style, Janet Green Jacobson. Kind of a cross between Hopper and Benton. (She's got a blog if you want to check out the work.) And a final congrats to one of my teachers, Margaret Scanlan, whose show of landscapes opens in Charlotte, NC, this week.

New Work

Finished two recent commissions. For my grandsons, I painted a fire truck racing to put out a house fire. It's hanging in the art room where they work on the easels. For Jan, I finally finished a landscape that's hanging above the fireplace. Jan tells me she really likes it which is high praise. I've done a pretty good portrait of Modigliani and attached is one of Ed Ruscha. This is the second time I've painted him and I think this one's better than the previous one. Tax season ends for me Tuesday and I hope to start spending more time in the studio. Do your taxes!

Think Small

The new year started with the arrival of five big canvases from Utretch. This was following the arrival of my very large easel, a present from Jan. That spurred a resolution to go big this year and try to complete about twenty more large portraits. Like all resolutions, this one hit a road bump when I found some small 8 x 10 canvases in the closet which I promptly gessoed and painted over. Here's one to the left. Now I am envisioning about twenty of these as a series. (Hey, they take less time to paint.) So I guess the bottom line is that I am not quite sure the new year will bring. Maybe a little bit of both.