Jim Kunzler Is Face #90 Today

"Jim Kunzler: Face #90," oil, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

I actually painted two faces today ... but because that's a whole lot of painting and I'm pooped ... you'll have to stay tuned until tomorrow for the write-up and postings for Faces #91 and #92.

Jim's a friend and colleague from career #1 ...running a marketing communications/graphic design/presentation business. Jim is warm, honest, funny, hard-working, friendly ... the most people-est person you could ever meet. To meet him is to love him.

Spending time with him, you're guaranteed to laugh. Lesson of the day: it's impossible to paint someone while doubled over laughing. You can't see!  Plus, when Jim's breaking up, he covers his eyes, changes color, and really ... well, laughs. It's contagious as all get out. We came to the consensus that the stories told could not be that hysterical. Jim said he'd try. He succeeded some of the time.

While working, we spent five days a week together for lotsa, lotsa years. It was good to have time to just talk one on one. (There's nothing better than spending time with one person at a time.) I loved every minute of it.

Jim told me he didn't want to see my painting of him until it was done ... and then changed his mind and said he would be glad to see it before that if I was ready. I wasn't. Each face, I've handled this differently. If I'm really "getting" the person from the very beginning, they can see it in stages. Sometimes, I don't know if my sitter will see what I see in a painting start. I worry if I show it to them with parts still to be worked out (i.e., temporarily wrong) ... they'll see the flaw even when I've fixed it.

Then again, if I don't show it to them in the middle ... they haven't gotten a chance to get used to it along the way. What if they don't like it four hours later?

Actually, all those "worries" are really just thoughts. I play the sessions by ear and do what I think is best on a "face-by-face" basis. It's worked out just fine, ninety times.

One of the many really nice moments of today was when my daughter Sarah (Face #77) came down to the studio -- and visited with Jim and me. She sat down and watched part of the painting take place. Told me she didn't know what else I had to do (it looked finished) and told Jim she thought he was really going to love it.

Jim really did.

My 100 Faces in 100 Days Project
For those of you new to my project, I'm painting 100 Faces in 100 Days. I started January 1, 2011 and today is the 91st day of the year. I painted Face #90 and #91 today ... so I am caught up, painting-wise. My sitters have volunteered to come talk to me and have their faces painted ... to enjoy the experience. The time commitment is generally four hours of not being still ... but being seated, talking, engaged. I've painted all sorts of interesting people along the way and been enriched by each one. Ages of my sitters have ranged from six-and-a-half months' old to 94 years. You can read more about my project on earlier posts and on my web site's 100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page.

All 100 Faces will be exhibited at least two times ... hopefully more ... because the power is in seeing them together and the personalities I've spent time with for the first 100 days of 2011. These are super people I hope you take the opportunity to meet ... on the blog ... and in person at one of the exhibit events.

Exhibits: May 2011 at the Great Falls Public Library (Great Falls, VA). Reception: Saturday, May 7 afternoon. Demo/Talk: Saturday, May 21
August 2011 at the Gallery in the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA. Details to come.

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