Currently I am polishing off the final edits of my master’s thesis and was inspired by this quote from interviews with eight great artists of the 20th century conducted by Peppino Mangravite, which I transcribed from materials found at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. I was particularly struck by the following quote from Graham Sutherland on the painter vs. the camera.

“Any painter sufficiently aware of the psychological forces that go to make a portrait can also learn what the camera can teach. The camera can teach a great deal about the detail of nature. But the artist must be able to add something more perfect, more revealing, than any camera portrait can do.”

-Graham Sutherland, from interview with Peppino Mangravite, June 6, 1955

Thomas Hart Benton, “Romance,” 1932

Thomas Hart Benton, “Prodigal Son,” 1939

Thomas Hart Benton, “Lewis and Clark at Eagle Creek,” 1967

The one-woman endeavor began with an idea to make a plush toy for a 4 year old boy, using his own drawing as inspiration. Since then she has made hundreds of stuffed toys, that you can check out on the Child’s Own Studio Flickr page.

I know I am drawn (not meant to be a pun) to this idea because of my studio art thesis project I completed my senior year of undergrad, Seven Days of Creation, where I used children’s drawings of the Biblical seven days of creation as the basis for a series of seven paintings I attempted to complete in seven days…whew! I was so inspired by the way the kids I worked with interpreted such an abstract concept and created such simple, yet visually striking images. Watch the video to see my painting process along with the children’s drawings and interviews with my undergraduate professors on their thoughts on creation.

I had a lot of fun with this painting…I really love the architectural lines of their home and the lovely green spaces, which combine to create a modern, yet natural look. Watch the video below to see the process for this painting…

If you’ve followed my paintings for a while, you may have noticed that I really love the contrast or rather compliment of manmade and natural environments. I am often enthralled with skyscrapers and equally, marvel at the scale of mountain ranges. I also like to depict figures in beautiful and serene environments, both natural and manmade. Part of the reason I’m sharing all of this with you is because my brain is fixated on my next painting, which is inspired by the photo below from my backpacking trip to Gimmelwald, Switzerland back in 2007. My good friend Sarah Moore took this photo of me and our friend Max on a hike one day. I bought a canvas over the weekend for this painting–the biggest one I’ve ever worked on (36″ x 48″) and I am SO EXCITED!

I also have two more “Portrait of Home” commissions lined up as well as a portrait and a commissioned landscape of the Capital of Texas bridge that Ricky and I will be working on together. If you would like an original painting of your home or have an idea for a commissioned piece, please contact me!

Though I did not read all 411 comments from the original article, I was glad to see such attention brought to the topic of art education at The University of Texas, as I will be graduating with my master’s in art education from UT this May. I am currently finished with all of my coursework and am working on editing the final draft of my thesis. While reading through interviews I transcribed for my thesis research, conducted by artist-educator, Peppino Mangravite with eight great artists of the 20th century, I came across this quote by English sculptor, Henry Moore, which I feel is a perfect response to The questionable value of arts programs:

“Well, I am sure that the community needs the artist. One is only to think of a world without art, that is a world without pictures, sculpture, music, poems, plays, etcetera, such a world would be no better than an animal world. The average person may think that painting and sculpture do not matter to him, but the very way he looks at life, at his garden, at everything around him is being colored and made by the artists who have lived before him. It is the artist who keeps the people’s senses alive. The poet keeps ideas and the language and vision fresh. The musician makes through sound the whole world of emotion and pleasure available and the sculptor and painter keep our eyes alert and our minds alive to the meaning of nature, to its rich associations, and to the wonderful variety and significance that is to be found in shape and form and color. Even though the average person may resist and dislike the changes in his outlook, all the time his life is being colored by art.”

Need we say more?

Portrait of George | oil on canvas | 16 x 20 inches

I especially love contemporary art that requires visitor interaction to function. The Contraption for the Influence of Breath II by Andy Holtin was shown in Berlin the summer of 2010. As visitors blew into the contraption (that really is the best word to describe it), their breath was magnified and carried on through the rest of the piece. The device was powerful enough that a single exhale could become strong enough to move two-by-four planks of wood. Thanks to my sister for sharing this with me!

Photos by Tom Insam

After watching the video of the “contraption,” I couldn’t help but think of this scene from the movie American Beauty…

Holtin creates video, sculptural, and science project-esque works related to the themes agents, worlds,systems, and moments. In his installation titled We all need a creation myth, 2.0, sifted powdered chalk accumulates to produce landscapes. Since I have also explored ideas of creation in my project Seven Days of Creation, I really enjoyed this piece…