366
Portraiture, Still-life, Landscape, Murals, Itinerant Portraitist, Old Master, Oil painting, Self-Portraits, Children's Portraiture, Yale, Yale Portraits, Davenport College, Davenport College Portraits, Sterling Memorial Library, Sterling Memorial Library Portraits, Women Artists, Women Artists NY, Women Artists USA, Contemporary Portraiture, Contemporary Painting, Multidisciplinary Artist, Installation Art, Artistic Activism, Public Art, Documentary Film, Documentary Film Award Winner, Mural Artist, Animal Portraits, Snakes, Snakes Portraits, Glass Sculpture, Drawing, Art Drawings, Commissioned Artwork
366: a watercolor portrait a day
Beginning on April 25, 2015, one member of the local arts community came to my studio to sit for a watercolor portrait each day during a leap year, consisting of 366 days. Because I work with the sketchbook flat, the subjects could observe and comment on their image as it was painted. Conversations informed the painting and the painting informed the conversations. After the painting was completed, I photographed each sitter holding their portrait. The photos were made in collaboration, with the sitter often choosing the pose and the lighting. Each day, I posted the new photo on social media. These posts gained a following, often with hundreds of “likes” and dozens of thoughtful comments.
Being painted is an intense emotional experience, wrapped up with ideas about mortality, self-esteem, and beauty. Discussions about career, inspiration, survival, aging, and child-raising ensued. The sharp contrast between the intimate shared experience of the portrait session and the public response through social media was exhilarating. Through social media, each subject was celebrated and an intricate web of connections was woven. 366 was experiential and whatever happened in the painting was evidence of that experience; the daily discipline, conversations, photography, and interaction on social media were as much the art as the actual watercolors.
