Iconic portraits by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald: Kehinde’s oil on canvas of President Barack Obama and Amy’s oil on linen of First Lady Michele Obama
Portrait Art of Barack and Michelle Obama at the Smithsonian
Thanks to patriotic benefactors, two prestigious portraits now hang in the Smithsonian: Kehinde Wiley’s oil on canvas of Barack Obama and Amy Sherald’s oil on linen of Michelle Obama, our 44th President and First Lady. These insightful character studies offer a measure of creativity and embody the essence of why America fell in love with Barack and Michelle and elected them our First Family.
My first portrait of Prez Trump, in a Modern style
Trump of Spades
I went Modern when I grabbed my pen to ink the portrait of our new President, Donald J. Trump, then framed it for a deck of cards. The first thing that pops into my mind when I hear the word Trump is … Play Your Trump Card!
A notable painter is always commissioned to paint an Official Portrait of the President and the first lady for the White House gallery, a tradition since Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of President George Washington in 1797.
And one of many decisions our Presidents and First Ladies make as they leave the White House at the end of their term is who will paint their official portraits for the Smithsonian.
Benefactors underwrite the cost of these portraits to honor the President and First Lady and to present historical portraits for public gallery viewing at the Smithsonian.
My portrait of President Donald Trump is an unofficial portrait.
Trump of Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs
Trump of Diamonds
I framed Donald Trump’s portrait with all of the playing card suits, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs, so you could play with a full deck.
Here’s a link to a coloring page. Go wild with your color palette when you paint, like I did.
Credit: my Modern Art of Pres. Trump was inspired by Newsweek’s Special Inaugural issue: Trump, Commander in Chief.
Cubic Me is an empirical fantasy of a splendid day.
I was drawing portraits and saw a photograph of Lady Gaga. Soon I was blurring reality in juxtaposition.
I was studying Cubism. My first attempt at Cubism was a self-portrait, titled Modular Me.
Modular Me, digital art to the power of three
Since I enjoy geometric prints and adored geometry in high school, Cubism promises to be a natural for me, but I have some work to do.
It’s fun to re-composite an image in geometric shapes, but more challenging is to imagine a flat object from different viewpoints and to create that final image with differing viewpoints and on different planes, which is pure Cubism. Continue reading Cubic Self-Portrait in My Dreams
