Contemporary Children's Portraits Show: Portraits Inc. New York City, Opening Reception Thurs. Apr. 9th, 2015 from 6 - 8:00pm

"Tessa with a Doll and Strawberry" oil, 36" x 24"

"Tessa with a Doll and Strawberry" (detail of above)

"Syd" oil, 20" x 16"

I'm excited to say that I'll have two of my children's portraits at the upcoming show "Our Great Hope: Contemporary Children's Portraits" at Portraits Inc. New York's new location, 6 East 92nd Street NYC.

Michael Gormley is the Curator for the show and I'm sure he has selected an assortment of wonderful paintings. I'm so flattered that he chose two of my pieces and I can't wait to see what is on the walls!

I painted my own children every couple of years when they were younger. I do so wish I had painted them more often, and, as long as I'm wishing, I wish that I had been a better painter when I painted them. Meanwhile, I wish my own parents had hired a portrait painter for my siblings and me when we were little. It would have been out of the question financially but it would have been a nice gift for my children now, assuming they would have the wall space after hanging all the paintings of themselves that I've done over the years.

Most of all, though, I wish my own parents would have been painted when they were children, how I would love to have those to pass down!

A well painted portrait becomes a presence in a home and keeps a person's life story alive for future generations.

Opening reception is Thursday April 9th from 6 to 8:00pm and the show runs through May 23rd, 2015. Hope you can make it.

By the way, I'm now on Instagram; please follow me! @lindatraceybrandon  

"Artist to Watch" in Southwest Art Magazine March 2015 issue

I'm so honored to be an "Artist to Watch" in the upcoming March 2015 issue of Southwest Art Magazine. Many thanks to the magazine's Senior Editor Bonnie Gangelhoff for selecting me to showcase in the magazine and letting me talk about my work!

By the way, "Books, Birds and Sky," the painting featured on the left side of the page, is  at Abend Gallery  in Denver, which was accidentally omitted in the article as a gallery which represents my work.

Ring in the New Year (and some New Art)

I hope you had a wonderful 2014 and you're now filled with high hopes and optimism for 2015. My own year was a good one, with the usual room for improvement, including posting on my blog.  I've been working hard, though, going in a couple of new directions and following some passions.

Meanwhile,  I've got still life paintings in two gallery shows.

The first painting is of some apples grown on a ranch near Prescott, Arizona - yes, there are apples growing in Arizona.

The ongoing gallery show is titled "A Treasure Trove of Real Art" at Haynes Gallery and runs for another couple of weeks into the New Year.

"Six Apples on a Scratched Surface", oil 12" x 24"

Available at Haynes Gallery in Nashville, TN

"Gardenias on a Blue Table", oil 9" x 6"

This is another of my gardenia series. It's in a Holiday Miniatures Show, available at Abend Gallery in Denver, CO.

Opening this Friday, Nov. 14th at NYC's Salamagundi Club: "Today's Portraits"

I'm delighted to say that my painting "Maddie" will be displayed at a show opening this week at the historic Salamagundi Club in New York.

"Today's Portraits: Emerging Artists & Leading Masters" is presented by Portraits Inc. - the opening reception is this Friday, Nov. 14th, 6:00 - 8:00pm. A portrait roundtable discussion will be held Nov. 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 and the show closes that same evening. For more information, please visit the Portraits Inc. website.

3-Day Workshop at Scottsdale Artists' School: Painting the Portrait Figure

Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, 1903. Image from here.

Even if you had no idea who the man in this painting was (and for all I know, you might not) you'd have some opinions about him based on how the artist has composed this painting.  The hand on the hip, the other hand gripping the finial, the bold stance - all this indicates determination and a powerful  personality. Sargent is remembered not only for his virtuoso technique, but also for his ability to indicate personality in his portrait and figurative work through gesture and setting.

Knowing how to use body language to artistic advantage in a painting is important to any figurative artist, whether or not one intends to paint portraits.

I'm teaching a 3-day workshop in October which will explore aspects of constructing a figurative painting or portrait to reflect the subject's characteristics through the use of body language and composition. We'll work on a fairly large canvas so that we can include the subject's posture and at least the hands, which can incredibly expressive of character. We'll be working with the same model throughout the workshop, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss subjects such as lighting, pose and clothing.  I taught this class a few years ago and it was great fun.

"Character Reveals Itself: Painting the Portrait Figure"
October 17th - October 19th, 2014
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
9:00 - 4:00

There are still some openings for the workshop - please contact Scottsdale Artists' School for more information.

Two Shows Opening at Principle Galleries this Weekend: WPW in Charleston and Pay It Forward in Alexandria

I've got paintings in two shows out East that open this Friday, September 7th. The shows are held at Principle Gallery's two locations - thank you to the good people at Principle Gallery for setting this up!

I've shown with many members of the Women Painting Women group before and you'll find references to that group in a quick search of this blog. It is always so interesting and it's terrific to meet so many wonderfully gifted artists. Both show openings should be great fun. Clicking on the Galleries' sites will give you more information about the basis for the shows, the times of the openings and the artists who are included.

The first show is "Women Painting Women" at Principle Gallery Charleston. My painting "Whispering" (oil, 16" x 12") is shown below:

Here's a video (which includes this painting) featuring gallery director Carri Schwab talking about the show, recently aired by the ABC TV affiliate in Charleston:

http://www.abcnews4.com/clip/10543518/principle-gallery-charleston



The second show is "Pay It Forward" at Principle Gallery Alexandria. My painting "Mixed Bouquet" (oil, 12" x 12") is pictured below:

If you're like me and you can't make it to the shows (which is depressing me tonight, since I'd love to be there) please think about buying the catalogs for the shows, available at Matter Deep Publishing.

Here's the link to the Women Painting Women catalog ... and here's the link to the Pay It Forward catalog.

A blog post by Michael Gormley and Portraits Inc. about "Maddie in the Act of Painting"

I was really lucky this week to be interviewed by Michael Gormley for this Portraits Inc. blogpost about my recent First Place award at the Butler Institute of American Art's 2014 Midyear Exhibition. Thanks so much, Michael and also Julia Baughman at Portraits Inc.!

Here's the link to the Portrait's Inc. blog:

http://www.portraitsinc.com/portrait-artist-wins-first-prize.php

I've got some photos of the exhibition at the Butler museum on my blog here.