Dalilah

3 hour study of Dalilah

11" x 10" oil on belgian linen

After living in LA for almost nine months, I finally made it out to the highly esteemed Jeremy Lipking's studio for his Tuesday night life painting class.  He, of course, is ridiculously talented, and last night there were a number of other brilliant artists in town visiting.  It was great to paint alongside some of the best painters of our time!  Local artists Tony Pro and Alexey Steele were there along with visiting artists Chris Pugliese, Rose Frantzen and her husband Charles Morris.  I also had the pleasure of meeting artists Rachel Constantine, David wilson, and Luis Sanchez who joined us later on.

Look at Rose Frantzen's incredible new body of work currently on view at the Smithsonian.

Christine Hall Photography

{ all photos above from my wedding taken by Christine Hall }

A huge thanks to the amazing photographer, Christine Hall, for your ever so flattering and thoughtful blog post!  I had the pleasure of meeting Chrissy when she photographed our wedding.  She is such a fun spirit and insanely talented photographer!  I always love when inspiration is reciprocal between artists!  I got to visit with her in May in her new studio space in Savannah.  If you are in the market for a photographer to shoot a wedding or portrait of your family, please check out her work: www.christinehallphotography.com

the following excerpt is from Christine Hall's blog:

"Amy Lind

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2009

Wow, it is amazing how just her visiting and talking to her at the studio it put me into this creative frenzy. I hit lulls now and again and think so much about the business now a days that when I feel that creative side in me stirring inside I feel like I did in college,  free, fun, and endless ideas that I knew were possible and trusting my instinct instead of what is safe or popular. If you are searching for a great painted portrait look no further then Amy Lind, I can ‘t wait to get mine, and ps we make a very good team with her painting from some of my portraits. Her website is amylind.com fabulous amazing beautiful inside and out."

Women Painting Women blog

I am very honored to be included as an artist on the blog

WomenPaintingWomen.blogspot.com

which includes 'favorite paintings of women by women, with a focus on contemporary, living artists.'  I met the creator of the blog, Sadie Valeri, while we were studying Portrait Painting under Michael Grimaldi at the Bay Area Classical Artist Atelier exactly one year ago.  Sadie is a very ambitious artist who strives to achieve great technical skill but also continues to learn about and question the principles and ideas surrounding painting both in the past and how they exist in our society today.  She has a personal blog (Sadievaleri.blogspot.com) that often includes step by step/in process shots of her paintings (mostly still life).  Her new blog, 'Women Painting Women' already contains the work of over 25 women artists in the first week of its conception.  The artists are all incredible and their work encompasses a variety of styles.  I look forward to checking back often, as I have discovered several artists I did not know of before.  How far we women have come!  Thanks, Sadie, for thinking of me.

National Portrait Gallery

{ detail } { detail }

I was enamored of this oil on paper piece depicting art collector and philanthropist Vera List by Jon R. Friedman. It hung in the new arrivals hall by the front entrance of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. It was one of the first paintings I saw and was probably my favorite throughout the whole museum. Very much a mix between Andrew Wyeth and Lucian Freud. There are so many intricate parts of this painting that I quite like; I can't decide which I like more - the bandaid on her hand or the vein in her forehead...

There is currently a fabulous photography exhibit, of which I failed to take many photos.  One playful portrait that caught my eye was this one below.  I love the parallels between the background of this photograph and the treatment of the couch in the above painting.

Photograph of Henry Kissinger by Steve Pyke

I managed to quickly peruse most of the exhibits/wings in an hour and a half.  My trip to the gallery was shorter than I wished as I spent the first part of the day driving up to Washington DC from Charleston, SC. Nonetheless, it was still inspiring!

Rediscovering artists is always a joy, whether in a magazine, book, museum, etc. On Friday at the museum, I found that I loved the work of both Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Abbott Handerson Thayer.  I had seen both of these artists' work before, but it wasn't until I saw a collection of their paintings in person that I realized how much I responded to them. Dewing's ethereal paintings of romantic woman struck a cord with me, and I appreciate his soft, feminine color palette. Thayer's angelic female figures exude a strong sense of emotion and mystery along with innocence. I enjoy the symmetrical compositions in many of Thayer's paintings. While still maintaining subtle rendering, he positions his figures on the canvas in such a way creating an overall bold, graphic quality.  I especially love his brushwork and the looseness of My Children (first image below).  I pulled this image from online as I did not capture a good enough one myself.  Online, I read that Thayer signed this painting and inscribed it "never to be retouched, not one pinpoint."  Now that is just spendid!

ABBOTT HANDERSON THAYER :::

Abbott Handerson Thayer, My Children (Mary, Gerald, and Gladys Thayer), oil, (very large, approx. 5' x 7')

Abbott Handerson Thayer, Virgin Enthroned, oil, (also very large)

Abbott Handerson Thayer, Stevenson Memorial, oil, (also very large)

Abbott Handerson Thayer, Angel, oil

Abbott Handerson Thayer, Winged Figure, oil  { AT ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO }

I took the above image, Winged Figure, while at the Art Institute of Chicago a few weeks ago. I had always loved the compostion of the curved body and cropped wings, but I never realized who painted it until I just took note of other Thayers at the National Portrait Gallery.

......................................................................................................................................................... THOMAS WILMER DEWING :::

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Lady in White (No. 2), oil on canvas

In a natural pose reminiscent of Whistler's Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother, the figure in Dewing's Lady in White (No. 2) appears to possess less mannequin-like traits than Dewing's other figure paintings at the gallery (including a painting of dancing ladies that is literally painted on a grand piano).

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Music, oil on canvas

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, A Reading, oil on canvas

PS :::

Thomas Wilmer Dewing.  Abbott Handerson Thayer.  Amy Lind?

How did I get stuck with such a short unpoetic name?  I thought the mark of true artists were their strong names..

Art Institute of Chicago

While in Chicago, I had to take a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum houses a vast collection of Impressionism. I think that viewing Monet and Degas and Post-Impressionist works by Van Gogh and Gauguin at a young age subconsciously instilled in me my love and fascination for color. Shannon, my best friend from high school and fellow AP art student, accompanied me to the museum. It was an extremely rainy day, so after we checked our umbrellas we headed immediately to the American wing to get our John Singer Sargent fix. To our surprise and delight, they had many recent Sargent acquisitions, two of which we had never even seen before in books! I took many a blurry snapshot of my favorite paintings, and I'd love to share a few with you. John Singer Sargent, Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre), 1882, oil on canvas We were surprised to see this Sargent, which has a very delicately painted face. It's smooth and subtlety blended.....there still is hope for me to loosen up!! Because of the tight, detailed face and dark, moody room, this was not instantly recognizable as a Sargent.

Edouard Vuillard, Landscape: Window Overlooking the Woods, 1899, oil on canvas Edouard Vuillard, Annette Roussel with a Broken Chair, c. 1900, oil on cardboard I've always responded to the very large landscape painting by Vuillard, but I finally snapped a shot of it. If I were to ever create textiles, I think this would be one of my initial sources of inpiration for pattern, texture, and color. Vuillard's small room painting reminds me of the pattern, texture, and color in Malcolm Liepke's work.

Antonio Mancini, Resting, c. 1887, oil on canvas LOVE LOVE LOVE the marks that make up this beautiful Mancini painting!

John Singer Sargent, Mrs. Charles Gifford Dyer (Mary Anthony), 1880, oil on canvas Couldn't resist including this painting by Sargent. I suppose Adrien Brody dressed as a woman and posed for Sargent back in 1880.

Andrew Wyeth ::: 07.12.1917 - 01.16.2009

I have been living in a bit of a bubble for the past month and just heard the sad news of Andrew Wyeth's passing.  He has been very influential to me as a painter.  Specifically, I am fascinated by his figurative works depicting Helga that capture such candid, raw, truthful moments.  His use of light and shadow are unprecedented, and his ability to convey a strong sense of mood and mystery within a desolate room, window, or landscape is inspiring.  His drawings and watercolors are just as precious - if not more - than his painstaking tempura paintings.  He truly had a unique ability to translate mundane life into beautiful drawings and paintings for the world to enjoy.

Long live a great American master!