White House Tour

The White House

Friday night I went to the White House for a tour of the East Wing and main building. Sadly there are no photographs allowed within the building. It goes without saying it is to prevent folks from #1 accidentally photographing something that a bad guy could use, as well as simply staving off damage to the delicate fabrics and artwork throughout the main floor.

After screening, we  walked through a public portion of the East Wing. It was lined with paintings of past presidents as well as some wonderful photographs of the different first families who occupied the building. There was one sweet grouping that showed Tricia Nixon’s wedding, the Clinton’s with Chelsea, JFK with Caroline and John in the Oval Office, the Obama’s with their daughters and their dog, as well as other family gatherings held in the White House.

Washington Monument in the distance

I loved that the photos ran the gamut from early 20th century to the 209 Easter Egg Roll on the lawn.  They seemed to be in the frames without regard to presidency or party lines and were focused on specific themes instead.

Once inside the White House, we saw several rooms on the ground floor as well as a nice display of several president’s china.  I loved President  Truman’s china pattern and President Lincoln’s drinking glasses remained me of the cut crystal folks bought in Germany at the flea markets; it seemed old fashioned and looked like it was cut in Czechoslovakia.

I was tickled to see the China Room. I kept thinking about the movie American President, where Annette Benning and Michael Douglas talk about china in the “Dish Room”.  The cabinets are painted with a very deep blood red flat paint and the china really seemed to pop.

The Mosquito Net, John Singer Sargent

We then went upstairs where we walked to the East Room.  This room is about 2800 sq feet and was very beautiful.  The ceilings were 20 feet tall and there was some lovely plaster moldings all over it.  The central corridor enters this room and this is were the presidential press conferences are held. From there you walked through four state rooms each decorated in a specific color. Gilburt Stuart’s painting of George Washington hands there as well as a painting of one of my favorite presidents, Theodore Roosevelt.

Most of the rooms were papered’ in cloth instead of wallpaper.  The Green room look like silk moire taffeta, the red room had gorgeous scarlet silk.  Well you ge the idea.

Each room had wonderful pictures of presidents as well as an assortment of other paintings.  The green room had a small John Signer Sargent painting called The Mosquito Net.  This painting is small (22″ x 28″) and is wonderfully intimate.  This photo is courtesy of the wonderful website, John Singer Sargent Gallery.  According to free library,  Sargent painted this in 1913 and the model is Marion Alice (Polly) Barnard, who was the daughter of a friend of Sargent.

This painting glows and draws your eye as soon as you walk into the Green Room.  The dress is rendered so beautifully that you suspect it’s a Sargent at first glance.  Seeing it was the highlight of the tour for me. The Mosquito Net was on a wall with several other large works (it was sandwiched between a John Marin painting and a larger landscape above it) on one side of a doorway and a wonderful Jacob Lawrence painting, The Builders on the other side of the wall.  According to the Washington Post article, John Marin’s The Circus No. 1,Henry Ossawa Tanner’s Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City also hung on the wall.

In the Green Room, the painting joins “The Circus No. 1″ by John Marin; a portrait of Louisa Catherine Adams by Gilbert Stuart; “The Mosquito Net” by John Singer Sargent; and “Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City” by Henry Ossawa Tanner.

Again the entire first floor was wonderful, but seeing this gem of a Sargent painting was the highlight of the visit for me.

If you live in the DC area or are planning a trip to DC, please check out this link that tells you how to request a self guided tour through the White House.  If you love art or history or politics, or even if you’ve just always wanted to see the building please do so! You need to apply at least 30 days in advance and can ask up to 6 months in advance.  If you’re visitng on a trip make sure you have several dates in mind.  Its the chance of a lifetime so, please come and visit this wonderful home!

Classes with Artist Seth Heverkamp

Echo, by Seth Heverkamp

Artist Seth Heverkamp will be teaching one-day portrait classes at his northern Virginia Studio starting Saturday, 5th of September at 9:30am-12:30pm.  Class is limited to five students, however if there are enough student, Seth will conduct two sessions on Saturday.

The cost of the three hour class will be $55 which includes the modeling fee. Keep in mind that registration is first come, first served (which is why I only blogged about it after I told him I wanted in!).  If you’re interested in studying with Seth on the 5th or any other time, you can contract him at seth.haverkamp@gmail.com.

In 2008, Seth won the Best in Show Award from the Portrait Society of America’s Annual Portrait Competition for his painted Echo, on the left.

Seth is extremely talented.  He studied at Studio Incamminati with artist Nelson Shanks, has been in numerous shows and of course his talent was recognized by the Portrait Society last year.  So to say he’s talented is an understatement.

I took one of Seth’s classes in June at his studio and I saw an immediate difference in my painting.  Seth, in the tradition of Incamminati is a fierce colorist and I am rather timid about color.  With three hours, you don’t have much time to indulge in your fears and Seth is very encouraging and helpful.  I loved the portrait sketch I painted in class and also applied what I learned with a 2 hour sketch of Dee.

So if you live in Northern Virginia and you want to study with a phenomenal artist, email Seth today!

Liberace Video Clip

Enjoy!

Waiting (again) on Liberace!

The Figure In Motion

I’ve been dying for artist Robert Liberace’s newest DVD to come out.  Rob said last week that it should be out shortly.  I keep checking Robert’s website to see if the purchase link is up but no luck yet.

I am not sure if he will be bringing copies to class and if he does I will be bummed since I have to miss class this week.  I will go into that more in a post this weekend.

In addition to the new DVD Robert is offering an on-line class with American Artist Magazine.  They’ve just started an online school, this is the course description:

Creating Masterful Portraits in Three Color Chalk will take your drawing to the next level with Rob’s in depth lessons on technique, use of color and demonstrations with each lesson.  Students will learn about master techniques, features through anatomy study, and flesh hues.

This class will provide students with close interaction with Rob, 6 lessons delivered on-line, a kickoff webinar and an option to have two critiques directly from Rob.

The online class format is new to American Artist, but this is how it works:

• The class will launch on September 1st at 11 am EST with a webinar, a live seminar on the web that you can watch through the internet and listen to via phone.
• Then each week following, there will be one lesson with practice applications added to the site for you to view and complete at your own convenience.
• Along with the lessons, there will be an open forum for discussion with peers and the instructor.
• There is also the option to complete the class with two critiques from Rob.  If you’re planning on taking that option, you’ll need to be able to upload your work digitally in a jpeg format.

If you are thinking about taking the class I highly recommend taking the class with the critiques.  Rob provides very specific feedback that helps his student’s tremendously here at the Art League.  So if you’re a little nervous about a critique, please don’t worry-he’s great.  Honest.

I am trying to talk my sister into signing up for this class since she’d really enjoy it and I’ve already told Rob how talented my sister is with colored pencil and silverpoint.

Another year older, soon…

and hopefully a tad wiser but who knows?

Green Grass

I wanted to wish my evil twin sister the happiest of birthdays as well.  You are the best sister and dearest friend that anyone could be blessed to have or to share.  Knowing you and growing up with you has been bumpy ride but a fun one all the same.  Life is richer with you in it my evil twin sister!

I had the chance to visit the town I grew up in recently.  Its gotten more beautiful in some places and worse for the wear in others.  In spite of the stories of revitalization, I found the neighborhood I grew up in sad and battered.  Looking at the houses where my relatives and friends lived, seeing the lack of pride, the filth and decay was very difficult for me.

I kept thinking oh my god that was Wanda and Jewel’s house, Gus lived there, Emily lived here.  The homes have new owners, renters and occupants.  It looks like they don’t love it like we did.  The yards with the gorgeous irises, gone.  The neighbor with her displays of tulips and roses gone and filled with trash.  My aunts beautiful border of lilies of the valley long gone.

This city is different now and I have to say that I used to entertain fantasies of moving back here.  But after this visit I can’t ever see that happening.

Paint Made Flesh

This show is at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.  The Phillips is on 1600 21st St NW and the number is
(202) 387-2151 if you need more information or directions.

This is a tour of the Paint Made Flesh at the Phillips Collection. Interesting how the delivery seems so different. Although you see the paintings better, the delivery is bone dry.

Here is the best one I found. There were several versions of this with different music. I liked the soundtrack best on this one so I used it, enjoy.

Utrecht Art Supply Sale

Utrecht Supplies is having a sale-they are giving 40% off of one NON-SALE item.  Which can be a phenomenal savings if you’re buying linen.

They sell Claessens 13 which is an double oil primed Belgian linen, the roll measures 82″ x 3yd and sells for $299.  With the 40% off it’s selling for $179.99 and the shipping is only $10.00.  I think it’s quite a deal.  I am not certain if I can publicly post the code here, but here goes.  Use promo code 86281 at checkout.  (dear Utrecht, please don’t sue me if I did a bad thing!)  Now the size of the rolls they are selling is slightly off since it’s  sold in a 54″x3yd size at Jerry’s Artarama for $217.29.  So you’re getting an extra 28″x3yd for cheaper than Jerry’s price woot!

This only works on non-sale items.  If the linen is too steep take a look at their Pld Holland oils which are actually decently priced with the promo code.

Enjoy.

Again I receive no remuneration or compensation from Utrecht for posting this.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

PNC Park Dugout, Pgh PA

This weekend I traveled to Pittsburgh PA with a friend who attended Netroots Nation.  The events I was able to attend as a guest were wonderful and a once in a lifetime treat.  One of the organizations sponsored a Night at PNC Park where the guests were allowed to walk on the field and practice batting or throwing a ball around.  Since I grew up attending the occasional Pirates game and loved Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen, Al ‘Scoop’ Oliver, and even Willie Stargell ( who ran like a tank), I was in hog heaven. I felt too shy to bat in front of the crowds watching so we snagged a bat and played about 25 feet away from first base.  I actually hit one ball high up into the bleachers! Yeah.  But I  had to run back to home plate to get another ball, boo.

Oh course the most fun was sending a picture of myself in the dugout to my sister and reading HER reaction, it was unprintable.  Life is good.

I did obscure my face slightly here, but it was only to give myself a dashing ’stache and glasses.

A New Love-Mr. John Dickson Batten

The Garden of Adonis - Amoretta and Time, John Dickson Batten, 1887

My new love’s name is John Dickson Batten.  He is an artist and he is British.  Sadly for me he’s also rather dead.  Mr. Batten was a pre-raphaelite painter who lived from 1860-1932.

I was able to view his painting, Amoret in the Garden of Adonis at the Carnegie Mellon Art Museum in Pittsburgh.  It was gorgeous.

I remember reading about the pre-raphaelites and that they felt that each detail must be painted from life, even down to the individual blades of grass.  So when I recovered my wits from the beauty of the painting I started looking very closely at it.

Detail of the Head

Now I know at first glance this just seems, well pretty, perhaps you don’t find it inspired?  But, the anatomy is beautiful and seemed quite correct and the skin tones are wonderful. Here is a close up of her head and upper shoulders.

I find it lovely.

I’ve posted some additional details below-in order to make them large enough to appreciate I am limiting my narrative.  I will also post the largest size I can of the original picture at the bottom.

Enjoy!

Close up of the White Rose

The Right Foot

Detail of Flowers along the Edge of the Painting

Blades of Grass

The Garden of Adonis - Amoretta and Time, by John Dickson Batten

Three Rivers

The View From Mount Washington

I was in Pittsburgh with friends this weekend.  They were kind enough to invite me to several of the Netroots Nations venues.

On Saturday, I attended two exciting events.  MoveOn.org sponsored and event with artist Shepard Fairey.  Shepard had two versions of his newest print supporting clean energy Power Up Windmill.  You can also download a free pdf of this image as well at the website.

Power Up Windmill, by Shepard Fairey

Shepard is a great guy who is very approachable.  I was able to talk to him for a few minutes when the party first opened.  After signing posters for about 40 minutes, he got up on the stage with Ilsye Hogue MoveOn.org political advocate and communications director who introduced Shepard.

When he addressed the crowd he spoke briefly and urged us to get into action promoting clean energy.  He talked about how he used his art to promote causes and issues that were important.  He encouraged us to use  to make our talent and art to further the issues we as believe in.

Afterward we headed to the Pirates new stadium at the PNC Park.  Campaign for America’s Future (CAF) and the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) who hosted a night on the field.  I had a blast and got to hit some balls with one of Jose Bautista’s practice bats.  Later we goofed around and took pictures in the dugout.  I can remember being a little girl at the games (at Three Rivers Stadium) and hanging out near the dugout pleading for autographs.  So last night was a dream come true.