Ruth's Portrait by Kim Blair

Ruth

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

Many years ago I met my friend Ruth at our neighbourhood gardening club and we have remained friends ever since. Besides having a gardening green thumb she has been known to have a painted green thumb from wielding her own paint brush...as she too is an artist.

While having coffee with her this past July I expressed my wish to paint her portrait and she graciously agreed...allowing me to snap a few photos of her sitting across from me in the cafe. The afternoon sunlight illuminated her face and clothing creating the perfect reference photo.

There's no denying Van Gogh's creative influence in this portrait of my friend Ruth.

;)

A special note to my subscribers:

*If you received this blog post via email subscription the video below will show up as a black box...  and will not play in your email. Please go directly to my art blog by clicking on the following link for kimblairartist.blogspot.com in order to view the short 2 minute video of the creation of this portrait.

Raspberry Faces

Did you know that the hollyhock has long been the 'unofficially' accepted floral symbol of Taos, New Mexico?  The Taos Garden Club chose the hollyhock for their official flower, and from reading the history of the hollyhock ,( as written by Ruth L. Fish) on their website, Los Jardineros, this vigorous flower has become recognized as "the Taos flower".
In 1949 the club scattered seeds along the main highways leading to town, along residential streets, alleys etc.  The club encouraged business owners to also plant hollyhocks, and by the second and third year the results were spectacular!  Over the years, road and town maintenance work have destroyed some of the plantings but many of the townspeople continue to use hollyhocks as their chief summer floral display in public and private gardens.
What a spectacular sight this floral display would be!  I can only imagine... but one day I will go there.



NFS
12x12 oil on canvas

Yvette's portrait by Kim Blair

Yvette

(14"x11" pastel on gessoed 300 lb. w.c. paper)

My friend Yvette, like my friend Ruth, (see her portrait here) is an artist. She works in various mediums and styles with beautiful results. We have one of her unique batik dye on silk paintings hanging in our home.

At the moment she is exploring alcohol inks producing vibrant abstracts perfectly sized for a small hit of colour in any room.

Besides working in the arts Yvette is a gardener. Her colourful flower beds are a delight to see and it is apropos that she has won numerous awards over the years for her lush gardens.

Her portrait, recreated as sidewalk chalk art, might be a fun accent to her landscaping this summer...

A special note to my subscribers:

*If you received this blog post via email subscription the video will not be visible in your email. Please go directly to my art blog by clicking on the following link for kimblairartist.blogspot.com in order to view the short 2 minute video of the creation of this portrait.

(It may take a couple of seconds for it to load once you press play...)