Time-Lapse Video - "Virginia"

Video by Justin Tennison

"Virginia"   30" x 25"   Oil

Portrait of a Generous Man

Former Texas Governor Bill Clements made an unprecedented donation of $100 million to UT Southwestern Hospital before he died in 2011. With the help of this generous gift a new state-of-the-art hospital has been built.  Recently there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the building and to officially open it to serve the community.

I was asked to paint a portrait of the governor to hang in the atrium of the hospital.  (It's on the wall in the bottom right corner.)

It was a privilege and a pleasure working on this project with Governor Clements' daughter, Mrs. Nancy Seay, who was helpful in ensuring that I capture her father's likeness and character.

William P. Clements Jr.

Look Three Times. Think Twice. Paint Once.

As I've been painting this little girl's portrait and working to get her likeness, I have recalled a statement that Paul Souza, one of my teachers at art school, used to say - "Look three times, think twice, paint once".  We were encouraged to do a lot of looking and thinking about our subject before we ever put any paint on canvas.  He wanted to make sure we were really looking at the model and not making things up or assuming we knew how to paint what was in front of us. 

Detail from a portrait in progress

Below are some examples of work I did in his portrait class.  (a few decades ago!)

16" x 12"   Oil and pencil on shellacked  board

24" x 18"   Charcoal on paper

24" x 18"   Charcoal on paper

And I'll never forget the time he came by my easel while I was painting in class and remarked that my palette was more interesting than my painting.  (He could be tough.)  What he meant was that I had overworked my painting and had painted all the life out of it whereas my palette was painterly and the color mixtures were vibrant.

Here's a photo of my palette while working on a painting recently.  Maybe Mr. Souza was on to something.

Shapes and Colors

Currently I'm working on a painting of the Fort Worth skyline at dusk as seen from the Amon Carter Museum.  

 Most of the detail is going into this cluster of buildings which I'd like to be the focal point of the composition.

Here's a close-up.  Just a messy bunch of shapes and colors, really.

Hanging At Harvard

I was in Cambridge, Massachusetts for the unveiling of a portrait of Dr. William Graham, former Dean of Harvard Divinity School.  The current Dean, Dr. David N. Hempton, did the honors of lifting the curtain.

Dr. Graham seemed pleased with his portrait.

He also seemed vey pleased with the "wallet-size" (his words) version given to him as a gift from the school.

And when they asked me to say a few words I was really wishing I had taken that speech class in college.

Dr. William A. Graham, a gentleman and a scholar - with some of the bluest eyes you've ever seen.

"Dr. William Graham - Dean of Harvard Divinity School"   40" x 30"   Oil

Many thanks to Evgenia Eliseeva of Eve Photography for providing me with these photos.

Iced In

An arctic cold front blew in and covered our region with a thick coat of ice that brought things to a stand still.  This is what our neighborhood looked like for several days.

Fortunately I had brought home my "studio-in-a-box" and was able to do a little painting.

Everything fits neatly in this Pelican Case.

A Christmas decoration seemed like a good subject.

"Camel Candle Holder"   10" x 8"   Watercolor

And I also painted this watercolor of a great blue heron I had seen at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

"Great Blue Heron"   10" x 8"   Watercolor

But after a couple of days I decided to strap on my handy Yaktrax and walk the 1/2 mile to my studio... 

…to work on this cityscape of Fort Worth on a winter evening.

Headmaster at Hotchkiss

Being sent to the principle's office can instill real fear.  (Not that I would know.)  But such was not the case when I visited the headmaster at The Hotchkiss School in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of northwestern Connecticut.  I was there to meet Malcolm McKenzie - whose portrait I was commissioned to paint for the school.  Here's how it progressed...

"Malcolm McKenzie - Headmaster of The Hotchkiss School"   40" x 30"  Oil

One of the benefits of portrait painting is meeting fascinating people, such as Mr. McKenzie.  Born in South Africa, he was headmaster at a boarding school in Botswana for many years (hence the zebras on his tie), then in Wales for several more, then Hotchkiss School and now Beijing, China.  The conversation at dinner was quite interesting!

Saudades

"Saudades" is a Portuguese word that has no direct translation in English.  It describes a deep emotional state and a melancholic longing for an absent something or someone.  It is "a recollection of feelings, places, experiences and events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being which now triggers the senses and makes one live again.  It brings sad and happy feelings all together, sadness for missing and happiness for having experienced the feeling."

I grew up in the beautiful country of Portugal.  It's been over forty years since I left there to come to the United States to live and yet I still find some of my greatest pleasure in painting Portuguese subjects.  I suppose you could say I have "saudades".

A window in the quaint Portuguese town of Óbidos.

"Lace Curtain"   29" x 21"   Watercolor

Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims

A recent portrait delivery.

Reverend David C. Fisher, pastor of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn, New York.  

"Reverend David Fisher"   40" x 30"   Oil

Plymouth Church has a very rich history.  Their first pastor was Henry Ward Beecher, the popular preacher and outspoken supporter for the abolition of slavery.  (His sister was Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin.")  The church played a major role in the Underground Railroad - the secretive network of people who helped slaves escape to the North.

Plymouth Church was also the only church in New York that Abraham Lincoln attended when visiting the city.  

You can even sit in the pew where he sat.

Here's how the portrait progressed.

Morning In The Garden

Early one morning in the Lower Rose Garden at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

"Early Morning in the Garden"   30" x 60"   Oil

The painting is fairly large and some of the details are lost when reduced to a small photo.  Here are some close-ups.

McWay Falls

At Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in California, a short hike will take you to this view of McWay Falls as it tumbles 100 feet from the granite cliffs into the beautiful McWay Cove.

"McWay Falls"   11" x 14"   Oil

Caroline Progression

Here's how the portrait of Caroline progressed.

"Caroline"   36" x 24"   Oil

Below is my photo reference for the portrait.  (I felt I should remove the footwear.)