Joan Bell-Haynes is Face #12

"Joan Bell-Haynes" Sat for Me Today, Face #12 of 100.

First comment ... my Internet is down, thus email is down. So, I'll be slow on replies and it'll be trickier to post for a day and a half.

Joan Bell-Haynes, Face #12
I spent a wonderful morning and early afternoon today with Joan Bell-Haynes. Joan is my parents' pastor and also the wife of Oscar (the famous model from last Fall's portrait class and my model for tomorrow's face).  Both are beautiful people and it was most enjoyable to just "meet" Joan as Joan ... versus Joan as wife and pastor.

We don't have "isn't the weather blustery outside" conversations. There's a lot to learn, understand ... a lot of common ground, both ways. Perhaps sometimes we don't think that someone else is interested in what we have to say, or we're never in the right time/place to be ourselves and share what's important to us. But, when we're open to listening and revealing what we're about, it's just easy, comfortable and helpful!

I took this shot in the mirror. (Backwards and there's a streak. Oops.)

I'm having these conversations while painting and I never want to stop either. Today was certainly no exception. What's being revealed isn't what my sitter looks like but who they are. While I care whether two eyes are aligned and a likeness exists, these "Faces" are far more in tune with the person's soul than surface.

In Joan, I felt, saw, heard her spirit. She is wise and full of love.

These "Faces" aren't snapshots of people. These "Faces" are who they are as seen through someone else's eyes.

I think that's what is surprising when each one of my sitters sees his or her painting. They are used to seeing a photograph and just accept that the camera (or the mirror) must be an accurate reflection of what they "look" like to someone else. But, I don't think that's true. (At least I hope not, in my own case -- since photos of me look pretty dreadful.) I know that this painting of Joan looks like her to me in a way a photo never could.

My 100 Faces in 100 Days Project
While we were together for a bit longer, this sitting was probably three-and-a-half to four hours long. (They aren't getting shorter.) To find out more about my project, read earlier posts on my blog ... each day from January 1 to today and the two posts in late December when I revealed my 2011 plans. Or go to my web site to my 100 Faces in 100 Days project page. I'll be updating that ... again ... when Verizon gets our Internet back in business. Sitters volunteer to come sit for me from anywhere to two-and-a-half to four hours ... to help me out, enjoy and learn about the process and be part of a project that I envision as a future exhibit and book about the project ... featuring them.

Tomorrow's "Face" is Oscar and I will get a post up on his sitting ... somehow ... tomorrow night.

I'm actually overloaded with technical issues at the moment. Boo hiss.

"Joan", Face #12 in my 100 Faces in 100 Days Project, oil on Raphael linen-lined board, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011.

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