"Chameleon" Alla Prima Portrait

"Chameleon," oil, 16"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2013

Well, it took awhile to get back to posting.  "Chameleon" had two inspiration sources this past week, plus a deadline that made one portrait morph into another (hence the name).

I'd attended last Saturday's open life session at the McLean Community Center -- but 25 minutes late -- which meant that the spot for my easel seemed like a mile away from the model. Okay, that's an exaggeration.  My place would have been okay if I was painting the whole figure, but the distance made capturing a portrait much more difficult. Still, I was going to try.  So, last Saturday's model was inspiration #1.

Then, one day this week I read Nancy Boren's review of a workshop taken with Milt Kobayashi. The upshot of the post was that Milt takes his inspiration from the model -- but then lets his imagination and interest take it from there.  That's what happened last night -- just in time to take this painting, along with five more to be photographed professionally to this morning's shoot. Inspiration #2 and the deadline that made it happen.

"Nigerian Beauty," 24"h x 18"w, by Jill Banks, private collection

"Chameleon" reminds me of a favorite painting of mine that is now hanging in a collector's home. "Nigerian Beauty" is one of those paintings I'll miss forever -- and could just be Inspiration #3.  

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project
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Phone: 703.403.7435

Events

Women Painters of the Southeast Juried Members Exhibit and Sale
Imagine Gallery, 230 Franklin Road, Franklin, TN 37064
"Sunflowers in the Studio II" juried into the exhibit that runs April 19 to May 20.

"New Works" Exhibit: the Artists' Atelier Gallery, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA. Open Wednesdays and Saturdays, noon to 4pm through May 31. On view in the gallery: "Ballerinas I," "Ballerinas II" and "Red Pillow." 

Solo Show at Greenberry's Coffee & Tea
6839 Redmond Drive, McLean, VA 22101
(703) 821-9501
Exhibit of six paintings including "Two Kittens," "Traffic Patterns," "Primary Colors," "Spanish Steps," "Second & Pine Streets," and "Sunlight, Sunflowers and Orange." Through June 30.