Working alone… The face of Jesus

I’m here to show you a sneak peek of my process of creating a portrait. This is not something that I can do in a group, but must be done alone. It’s a complicated process and quite challenging. I use color value too give the illusion of depth and form. I won’t tell you that these works are easy.  In the end, of course I find it most satisfying. But I don’t do these small detialed works often.

Let’s be honest…

How many parents dream of their child growing up to be an artist?  These parents are few and far between.  Even though some fields: commercial art, architechture, or teaching could be considered a profitable careeer choice.    

As an artist, I  can easily recognize art gifts and talents in children. Even the youngest of children display, with ease, gifts in design, color, composition, and drawing.

When given the opportunity, this fourth grade student quickly created this delightful design for her class’s art work that would go to auction.  It’s an amazing design! I had fun orchestrating and choosing the colors for each piece of the design.  The class had just 12 students. We were working on “the tree of life.“ She designed the tree and 12 birds. Very clever!

This young lady attended my Art Camp at St. Thomas Church in Ann Arbor. I think that she was eleven years old at the time.  Each camper had the opportunity to draw a design for the project.  I was amazed at how well and how quickly she came up with this beautiful design based on our theme.   She wants to become an art illustrator and live un the Netherlands.  I have no doubt that she has everything she needs to make that dream a reality.

Why are exhibit so important to you?

Exhibits are important for a visual artist. What could be more satisfying than to have your work seen and appreciated?  Exhibit are important for feedback. The attentive artist will listen to the feedback of the viewers, wanting to know what it is they like about the piece or how the work affects the viewer. 

My children’s Art Camps would not be complete without the final exhibit. My young Art Camp students are typically disappointed when they hear that they are not allowed to take work home each night.  But as they learn more about the exhibit, thier excitement builds.  Each student has their own display space. Their display pieces are carefully chosen, framed, and arranged.  All the works are signed. The young artists are prepped to answer questions, talk about their artworks, and listen carefully to comments.  With a little pre-exhibit coaching, the parents enter the 15 minute post-camp event prepared to ask questions and show appreciation for the children’s work. Some art campers’ parents have been known to bring flowers and plan celebrations after the exhibit. The young artists close out their exhibit by placing each artwork carefully in their pre-make folios . Parents and grandparents who honor a piece of their child’s art by placing it on the wall at home in a prominent place will do much to encourage a young artist’s dreams.