Cindy Hargroves is Face #21 in My 100 Faces in 100 Days Project

"Cindy Hargroves: Face #21", oil, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

Cindy Hargroves came to sit for me ... because she read the blog post of Cindy Grisdela (Face #5) about sitting for my project. Thanks Cindy (Grisdela) for explaining that it's a fun and different thing to do. Cindy (Hargroves) believed you ... and emailed me to "sign up."

I'm going to say that 2011 seems to be the year that a lot of people are committing to trying something new, moving outside their comfort zone, or giving something a shot that they have always wanted to do. Lots of my faces subjects have volunteered because it's something they had never done before (and they wanted to do something outside their comfort zone). It's one of the top three reasons I hear. (The other two are volunteering to help me improve my skills as an artist while letting me do what I really want to do ... and the curiosity/learning aspects of the experience.)

This is an open grisaille (one color painting) of Cindy. How I start.

Cindy Hargroves has been trying out new things including taking a drumming class and an African dance class ... and sitting to have her alla prima portrait painted. Alla Prima means all at once, or in one sitting. These "faces" paintings are much less developed than a formal portrait and are more like an oil sketch to get the essence of my sitters versus an accurate snapshot. Today's sitting was three-and-a-half hours. Most are from 3 to 4 hours.

I keep getting to each person's mouth last ... since we're having conversations from beginning to end and I can't paint it mid-sentence. I did ask Cindy to keep her mouth still -- no talking -- for a little bit. But, I complicate things because I'm always having such a good time, I'm always smiling and it's difficult not to smile back. (You can try it when you come sit for me.) Plus, inevitably, I'll ask someone to hold his/her mouth still so I can paint it, then immediately ask them a question. Duh. This time I was about to ask a question, then stopped myself and by the time we started talking again, I'd forgotten what I wanted to know.

The painting a little further along ... on my easel.

Today I painted in my home studio ... and tomorrow and Sunday I'll be back in the Artists' Atelier to paint. Feel free to stop by on Saturday from 10am to 4pm (I'll be painting from 10am to 2pm -- but the studio will be open for regular open hours until 4pm). I'll be bringing in my three paintings I did at home -- Begona Morton (Face #19), Adrianne Pedlikin (Face #20) and Cindy Hargroves (Face #21) to put up on my Faces wall in my studio at 1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G, Great Falls, VA 22066. Those will complete my wall with its current shelving -- so husband Randy will need to add more for my next week's worth of paintings.

I love the wall. You will, too. It's amazing how powerful all these people all together. Like a room jam-packed with friends.

Cindy Hargroves taking a photo of the finished painting.

Which reminds me. One of the wonderful things Cindy told me about today was that her neighborhood all gets together for Friday Happy Hour, hosted at one of the houses with people bringing snacks to share and drinks. Neighborhood kids know neighborhood kids, everyone knows everyone. From there, they've formed other activities like a Book Club, dinner club, etc. -- but it's a wonderfully social group. How great is that? So much better than everyone leading their own separate lives -- and terrific for the kids who need those connections with those older and younger than themselves.

Okay, enough typing. I've got a show application to do ... and have to really map out a talk I'm giving next Friday to the McLean Art Club. Got to go.

Thanks, Cindy Hargroves, for sitting for me. Thanks, Cindy Grisdela, for your help in convincing her.

P.S. I forgot to mention that my 100 Faces in 100 Days Project will be exhibited in May at the Great Falls Library in Great Falls, VA. At least that's one of the places you will be able to see it. I will also be doing a solo show there in February 2012. (Something other than faces that I'll spend the following 256 days on, I guess.)

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

Mom is Face 8, 100 Faces in 100 Days Project

"Mom", Face #8 of 100, oil, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

Today was fun! Okay, you've heard that before.

Face #8 is none other than my Mom, Shonnie Johnson, numero uno Mom, art agent, friend, wife (to Dad), Nana (to lucky grandkids), neighbor (to all those Stratford House folks) ... and awfully cute, to boot. The hardest critic for my paintings of Mom is my Dad who thinks she's so beautiful that nothing I can create in paint can hold a candle to her. That's probably true.

But I tried.

She sat super still. She's had training as a model for one of my previous Portrait classes. This is NOT a requirement for my 100 Faces in 100 Days project, but she did it anyway. I did take a little lunch break sitting in the chair I set up for her ... and I admit that it was awfully comfy.

Mom walking around the Artists' Atelier, my shared studio

It was great to have some extended visiting time. It's impossible to get enough. 

Dad is going to be Face #11. He agreed to model for me after my Still Life class next week. What he doesn't know (even though my Mom and I are both telling him), is that he's going to enjoy this just as much as I am. It's a reprieve from all those things he has to do ... and some nice time making his daughter happy.

I'm filling up my Faces calendar a little at a time  and have a schedule opening for this coming Friday, January 14 in the afternoon and Sunday, January 16, also in the afternoon, both probably at 2pm. I've had lots of volunteers that I just need to assign to a particular day.

My Mom sat for me for about four hours. The range has been between 2-1/2 to 4 hours. I've been asked whether I think I'll speed up the more I do ... and I just don't know but my guess is that it will stay about the same. The span of time required seems to be less about the model than about me. I have been using the full time lately, though, because I spend more time in the Open Grisaille stage ... laying in the darks only (in a mix of transparent oxide red and French ultramarine blue) to nail my drawing. As soon as the darks are put down, it matters very little how much my sitter moves. After that, I am just looking for the colors of her/his skin tones and clothing in the light.

Open Grisaille stage ... just starting to add in the lights

I did take a shot of my painting of Mom as I was just beginning to lay in the lights. I keep my darks thin paint (just less of it -- I don't use any medium) and use thicker paint on my lights.

All of these paintings are being done on 12" x 12" Raphael oil-primed, linen-lined boards. They are a bit tricky, but I like them. The trickiness comes from their smooth, oil-primed texture. Paint is not absorbed at all and the hard, smooth surface makes every single brushstroke show. There's an upside to this, too. Brushstrokes are pretty beautiful in and of themselves ... and I think the "craziness" of them just adds energy and life to each of these paintings.

There are two more openings in my Portrait Painting and Drawing class that starts this coming Monday, January 10. The class is weekly from 10am-1pm for nine weeks and I give a demo in the first session. (The demo will be of Face #10: my Father-in-Law, Drate Banks.) See my web site's Classes page for more info and email me if you're interested. Classes are held through the Great Falls School of Art at 1144 Walker Road, Suite D, Great Falls, VA 22066. I hope you can join us!

Learn more about my 100 Faces in 100 Days Project on earlier blog posts or on my web site. I'm adding links to each day's Face back to the blog post for their day. Interesting. A bit of work but a great way to get to know more about them. My mom's not on there yet, but she will be.

I'm curious, too, what you see (those of you following this project). I know it's only the beginning of week two ... but is there a change? A common thread? Something you want to know more or less about?

Thanks, MOM for ALL you do ... including sitting for me!

"Mom", Face #8 in my 100 Faces in 100 Days Project, oil on Raphael board, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Open Grisaille Start and Two Finishes

Something different today. I decided to return to two little paintings that appealed to me ... that were started en plein air last year during a workshop I took in Easton, MD. My goal for that workshop (in addition to surviving the heat and bugs) was to look intently for the strong contrasts of light and shadow ... and learn to state it boldly. I started to do that during the workshop, but it's something I've continued to strive for this past year. These two, "Benched" and "Special Delivery", are very different than the paintings that I started with this morning. They demonstrate that I "got" the lesson.


After finishing up with those two, I headed downstairs where Michela Mansuino has set up a beautiful, Cezanne-inspired still life for a weeklong workshop she's giving at the Great Falls School of Art this week. While I'm not one of the workshop attendees, I am working after hours to tackle this complicated still life in my own fashion. (I'm helping to pay the apple bill.) I'm starting with an open grisaille, what you see here, just laying in the darks with a burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue combo. I "erase" the lights as need be with a paper towel -- one of my favorite painting tools. Tomorrow afternoon/evening I'll check my drawing and arrangement and then go in with color in the lights.


So, today's three are:
"Special Delivery", 8"h x 10"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.
"Benched", 9"h x 12"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.
"An Apple Arrangement" open grisaille WIP, 24"h x 30"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

This is the last week to view my "On the Bright Side" solo show at the Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, VA (comes down August 31) and works in the "Still Life Poetry" show at ArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center Street, Herndon, VA (comes down August 30). See my web site for more details.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435