Sam Woodward Is Face #98 and Lots of Loose Ends

"Sam Woodward: Face #98," oil, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

Sam Woodward came to sit to become Face #98 today. Sam is the husband of one of my studiomates, fellow artist Brenda Drake (Face #54). Each sitting has an interesting rhythm and flow. Sam was working from the beginning to figure out the ground rules. What should he do/shouldn't he do. He had two Blackberries (he has a reason for having two) that he needed to keep close enough in case anything really had to be dealt with ... but he was pretty intent on being a good sitter.

Sam mentioned if he really sat for four hours today that would be the only time in his life he volunteered to sit in the same spot for that long. It seems more daunting than it really is, I think There are breaks. Time to wander around some.

For the first part of the sitting, Sam was interviewing me. Full force. He wanted to get my life story ... figure out just what kind of a person I am. Turns out Sam's worn a bunch of hats but was a clinical psychologist by education/training. My brain was being examined.

See? I did let him out of the chair.

I did suggest to Sam that the tables needed to be turned ... otherwise I'd be writing a blog post about me. That will happen soon enough.

We talked about family -- his roots and relatives. He painted a solid picture of the Woodward clan for me. We talked about work. Schooling. Art and marketing. He worked on getting me to push the boundaries toward greater success/recognition as an artist. On a different scale. I'd like to take him up on that. (I'll let you know what I come up with ... here.) Sam contributed some outstanding ideas that I'll wrap around what I do next. Thanks, Sam!

Trying to Tie Up Loose Ends -- The 100 Faces in 100 Days Project

Life's a tad bit overwhelming at the moment ... I've got to take some photos soon for a peek into the wild world around me. My husband Randy and I are trying to pull together as many loose ends as possible as the painting phase of my 100 Faces in 100 Days project nears a close. Tonight, he'll put together panel #8 of nine of my faces. Putting together a panel means stretching a leather-like, good looking dark gray vinyl over uniformly sized plywood. Attaching two velcro strips per painting to the vinyl-wrapped board and two matching strips to the back of each painting. Then he positions each painting on the large panel in three precise rows of three. Oh, and he's been painting gray gesso on the four sides of the painting so it looks more finished.

Two of the boards, 18 faces ... getting ready for the exhibits

My "details" involve finishing the fronts of the painting. As in parts where the white linen shows and detracts. (That means I have to match the color of that area of the painting.) I'm applying retouch varnish to many -- I'll get to them all -- as the color sinks and drys flat looking. The retouch varnish brings the color back to the vibrancy of wet paint. I'm also rephotographing many of the pieces so they can be used for my postcard images. Postcards are being designed and printed to advertise the two exhibits (May in the Great Falls Library and August in the Artists' Atelier) of my 100 Faces in 100 Days project ... and their related events. And, I need to check with the venues to make sure the times listed will work out fine. (They are subject to tweaking.)

Lots and lots of steps. 

I did update my web site late last night. My 100 Faces in 100 Days Project page has grown into two. The first 54 faces fit onto page one. 46 faces are being fit onto page two. You can click on each of the photos of the paintings and come to the blog post about that person and their sitting.

Anyone want to write a press release and get the word out about the project and the upcoming exhibit?

Make sure you come back to the blog for Faces 99 (tomorrow) and 100 (on Sunday). I'll be up to something!

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

Here's a Repeat: You've Got to See the School! Register Now...

Wow! I went to see the classroom that I normally teach in ... now expanded to include my previous second downstairs studio at 1144 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA. Wow again! I'm so excited about teaching there in May. The expansion made all the difference. It gets great light. There's plenty of room. Such a difference. I'll try to take a photo of the classroom soon and post it here. Yea!

Get info about the classes I'm offering on the Classes page on my web site. Portrait Painting and Drawing. Still Life Painting in Oils. A workshop on "Mastering the Business of Art" on May 25 & 26, 6:30-9:30pm. Sign up. Be happy!!!