---------------------------------
 |
| Jennifer Welty - The Artist's Daughters - 20 X 24 in. |
Self-taught portrait artist Jennifer Welty has been honored many times by the Portrait Society of America, including twice being nominated as a finalist. This year, the Californian painter is once again a winner of the Certificate of Excellence, an honor which she can add to previous awards of Honorable Mention, Certificate of Merit, and Best Portfolio. This painting, however, is the piece which not only marks a stylistic departure for the artist, but is also, in Welty's opinion, her finest work to date.
"This year," says Welty, "I had the privilege of studying with C.W. Mundy and Nancy Guzik, as well as being privileged to watch Richard Schmid demonstrate, and I think a freedom and joy, and a sense of unbounded boldness erupted out of me after that experience." Where the artist had considered her earlier work to be "cautious and precise," this painting allowed her a freedom she infrequently is allowed to experience in her commissioned portraits. "It is a painting that I have painted just for myself, trying to please no one, but seeking to satisfy my sense of what feels right to me alone. This painting is the product of a long journey which I have traveled on for 33 years."
 |
| Frank W. Benson Two Little Girls 1903 |
Welty drew her inspiration for the portrait of her daughters from Frank W. Benson's painting of two little girls, which she had first struck her many years ago. "I carried around in my head the idea for this painting for almost twenty years, and then, just this year, I sat down and painted it. So it only took 20 years and one day!"
Additional works by Jennifer Welty can be found at her website.
---------------------------------
2 comments:
Great Blog, Matthew- you put in a lot of work on this, and it is inspiring and refreshing- thanks! I just wanted to add a little footnote to this painting- I actually painted this painting of my daughters when they were this age and they sat for me, but I had limited artistic experience and skills at that time. As the years passed, I ran into Frank Benson's painting, (which recently sold for $1.2 million ) and it inspired me to think about the girl's portrait for several more years; then this year, I painted it in a larger size in the course of a day and a half. Some paintings just perk along in your head for years...
A beautiful painting! Obviously full of the love Jennifer feels for the girls! I'm so glad that it has been recognized; debunking the theory that a work must be shocking to win awards.
Post a Comment