All the Way from South Carolina: Jerry Stocks Is Face #84

"Jerry Stocks: Face #84," oil, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

While the rest of my volunteers are from the local Washington DC area, Jerry Stocks drove up from Beaufort, South Carolina with her daughter and two grandsons to become Faces #84, 85, 86 and 87 in my 100 Faces in 100 Days project. I'm the painter in their Spring Break adventure.

Jerry found out about my project by reading my blog. She's a regular reader and so followed along as this project was first an idea and just getting started. She volunteered back in January. I think she's up for anything that offers adventure and learning. She's a doer.

Jerry recently has delved into painting, having taken three workshops. Part of this adventure was definitely to talk art. We shared books, artists to look up/find out more about (boy, do I have a lot of homework to do in the next couple of days), ways to learn different facets of the art of painting, etc. She's done a lot of investigating into the art world ... discovering artists left and right through art blogs. Jerry reminds me of me. Nothing like the full immersion program.

Jerry came to art by way of sewing. She developed designs and plates for smocking, ran a wholesale business, wrote a regular column for Sew Beautiful magazine, taught workshops and spoke all over the world. In that business, she became an overnight sensation. A recurring theme is that whenever Jerry found that there was a shortage of something (designs, plates, easy to understand instruction), she took it upon herself to fill the void. The artist as entrepreneur.

 Today, she brought along a knitting project and worked occasionally at that. She found it difficult to talk and keep track of her knitting. Sounds familiar. Tough to keep a painting moving along and think, speak, listen, respond.

At some point, I'll report on all the artists, books, blogs, etc. that Jerry introduced me to today.

Tomorrow I'll be painting Jerry's four-year-old grandson and Jerry's daughter, Ivie. I'm not sure exactly what you'll see on tomorrow's blog post. Keep those fingers crossed.

Fine Art Connoisseur and American Art Collector Magazines, April

American Art Collector, April 2011, page 30

My painting, "Tranquility," that will be on exhibit at Salon International held at Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas ... appears in the April editions of both American Art Collector and Fine Art Connoisseur. View the Salon International exhibit online.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project: www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435