"July Peaches" Finished

"July Peaches," oil on linen, 18"h x 24"w, ©Jill Banks 2011

I guess I persevered. This wasn't the simplest painting I've undertaken ... and there have been three sets of peaches and canteloupe ... but I believe that I'm done. I signed it.

Check out my previous post about "July Peaches." I made some changes today ... besides working with new fruit. See if you can spot some of them.

Nice Reception Yesterday for Strauss Fellows
There was a gathering of Strauss Fellowship grant awardees (I was awarded grants in 2008 and 2011 by the Arts Council of Fairfax County) in yesterday at the Goodwin House, a really terrific retirement home. They have a beautiful gallery and really nice art studio with an active group of artists in a variety of mediums.

The reception was organized by Lynda Smith-Bugge (a 2009 Strauss Fellow) who is the Art Center Coordinator there at the Goodwin House. Each of the awardees were asked to talk about what they've been doing since receiving their grants ... and I talked about my 100 Faces in 100 Days project. This year's grant is offsetting some of the expenses related to exhibiting my project. We were joined by many of the Goodwin House residents -- who are involved in the art program there. They were genuinely excited to hear about each of our journeys. And, whenever I talk about the project, questions fly. Yesterday was no different.

A special treat was that one of the attendees was Janie Strauss. The Strauss Fellows are given in honor of her husband, Bill Strauss, who founded the Capitol Steps and Cappies Award program for kids. She reviews all of the proposals for grants each year and enjoyed connecting the awardees with our projects.

Quite a few of us, after touring the Goodwin House, were wondering just how old we needed to be to move in. It's quite a place.

Coming up:

Sunday, August 7: Painting on the Waterfront with the Art League's Plein Air Painters, behind the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA, in the morning.

August 8 to August 19: Three of my drawings will be on exhibit as part of the Salmagundi Club's Annual Photography and Graphics Non-Members Exhibit in NYC. This prestigious, 140-year-old arts club is located in a beautiful brownstone at 47 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. Through the years, the Salmagundi Club has been the gathering spot of such luminaries as Childe Hassam, William Merrit Chase, N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and many others. It's a pretty incredible spot. So ... if you're in NYC any time soon ...

August 1-31: "100 Faces in 100 Days" Exhibit #2 in the Gallery at the Artists' Atelier
Reception: Friday, August 12, 6-9pm
Ice Cream Social: Saturday, August 13, 2-4pm
RSVP helpful for both events ... but please come anyway if you don't get around to it.

Sunday, August 14: Painting on the Waterfront with the Art League's Plein Air Painters, behind the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA, in the morning.

August 26-August 29: Four-day intensive, still life workshop: "A Painting A Day" offered through the Great Falls School of Art. Space is limited. Details coming soon on my web site: www.JillBanks.com.

To read more about the 100 Faces in 100 Days project on my web site (www.jillbanks.com), go to the 100 Faces Project Pages 1 and 2 where you can see all 100 of my volunteers. Click on the paintings, and go to my blog post for that person's sitting.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435 

"July Peaches" In Progress, Perseverance and More

"July Peaches" work in progress, oil on linen, 18"h x 24"w, ©Jill Banks 2011

I get the feeling I'm posting this ... just to avoid for a bit longer the ridiculous to do list I typed up for myself today. (I did tackle a bit of it.)

Peaches and Perseverance
"July Peaches" are in progress. Day three today. Day one, painted on July 2 was full of promise. Day two, which happened to be July 3rd was an absolute disaster of proportions I haven't witnessed in awhile. Thus, there are no photos -- or evidence of day two. Phew.

It was on that infamous day two that I decided to completely change everything I had "accomplished" on day one ... and add in the flag as a compositional tool and a nod to July 4th. It created a different form of fireworks. I went home with my head down, accepting that day was a defeat. A smarter me would have left that painting after day one, let it dry for a few days and resume work when ... if I got in trouble, I could "erase" the new day's work. Okay. Next time.

 So I let it sit. And worked at it today with replacement models in a different studio. I have more work to do ... as in stars on the flag, the second peach ... and painting the heck out of those dangling peach leaves. But, I'm not doing it tomorrow.

"Conversations: 100 Faces in 100 Days" Article in élan Magazine 

The July 2011 issue of élan Magazine includes my first-person article about my 100 Faces in 100 Days project. It's beautifully laid out by Art Director Jean Davis ... and I was very relieved to see that my photos -- of so many of my faces -- turned out well in print. I've been working on improving my skills, and equipment for photographing my own art particularly for this project -- so I can have all the images I need -- for the web, book, press, etc. But, it's a scary leap. And doing your own photography can go terribly wrong. So, phew again.

I'll get permission first -- but hopefully will put the article up on my web site ... so those that don't get elan have a chance to get a peek. For my 100 Faces volunteers, the following of you have your paintings pictured ... in some way accompanying the article:

8-year-old Jack
Nancy Keane
Mollie Vardell
Anjanette Murphy
Walt Lawrence
Jim Devine
Trish Gaitan
Danni Lougee
Scott Anger
Diane Slafsky
Ben
Jack Platt
Richard Kelly
Barbara Marhofer
John Smith
Doris Leadbetter
Christine Flack
Janet Armour
Stephen Klagholz
Marlene Grim
Pamela Grim
Sue Bennett
8-year old Adam
Frank Gugino
Joan Devine
Trina Myers
Jane Anne Houser
Robert (Bob) Simon
Drate Banks (my father-in-law)
Ken Johnson (my dad)
Joan Haynes (my parents' pastor)
Oscar Haynes
Anne Guerin
Judith St. Ledger-Roty (my former studio mate)
Six-and-a-half-month old Bailey
Patti Chisholm
Jon Fisher
Laura Nichols
Vladimir Gribach
Sam Banks (my son)
... and Sally Simms

Plus face #101, David Reynolds, publisher of élan Magazine who sat during my demo day for the first 100 Faces exhibit in May at the Great Falls Library. He's pictured on the Word from the Editor section, p. 14. The article starts on p. 28.

I'll soon be hanging the second exhibit of these 100 Faces (or 101) at the Artists' Atelier to be on view from August 1-31. You are cordially invited to visit (I'll establish open hours and post those on my web site and here on the blog) and especially invited for the two main events.

Jill Banks' 100 Faces in 100 Days Exhibit -- August 1-31, 2011
Reception: Friday, August 12, 6-9pm

Ice Cream Social: Saturday, August 13, 2-4pm
At the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA 22066

Read more about the project on my web site (www.jillbanks.com), go to the 100 Faces Project Pages 1 and 2 where you can see all 100 of my volunteers. Click on the paintings, and go to my blog post for that person's sitting.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435