Dr. Ben Carson - Portrait Painting Part 1

Dr. Ben Carson a retired neurologist and author, known for being the first to separate conjoined twins joined at the head was in Colorado this weekend. My husband and I watched him speak and agreed that he is inspirational.

Just a few weeks ago, my husband asked me to paint him. After seeing him yesterday I started the painting that afternoon.

It is not finished but there will be a Part 2 post of the final painting along with the process pictures I took along the way. So far I have worked on this painting for a total of four hours. Unlike the others in the previous posts, I began this one by drawing him first.

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Soul Music Series Painting

Lately I have been asked about my reason for painting on particle board. The commissioned piece below is why. The wood used to create this piece was too large and had to be cut down to about 4' long. Consequently, I had 2 x 3' of leftover wood. I then decided to use it to paint Harriet Tubman.

Soon afterwards my job started to do expansion and remodeling work to their building and was throwing away tons of old particle board. I loaded them up into my van with the help of a few co-workers and friends over the next couple of days. All of the other paintings you see and will see on particle board come from there.

About the Painting
Last year I was asked by Scott the director of the Issachar Center to do a 3' x 4' painting for their Soul Music Series. We decided that it would be on particle board (something more durable than canvas). He came up with a concept. I put it into Photoshop and modified it a bit after a few suggestions.

I primed the board black and then drew a 3 inch grid system to insure that I painted it at a proper scale. I then using acrylic paint build the facial features touching it up layer by layer.

I'm so glad Scott gave me the opportunity to do this. Thanks Scott and Issachar!



Aunt Clara Brown - Women of Faith & Courage Part 4

Aunt Clara brown was one of the first African American Women to settle in Colorado. She was a former slave of Virginia and Kentucky. At age 56 she was granted her freedom due to the specification of her former slave owner's will. Later she was hired as a maid and a cook for miners traveling from Leavenworth Kansas to Colorado. Since she was a black women, it was said that she could not ride inside the traveling wagons.  Therefor she had to walk over 600 miles from Kansas to Colorado. Brown is believed to be Colorado’s gold rush first African American woman

Brown also opened the first laundry in the state of Colorado and was one of the wealthiest women of the west. She served the community and gave generously to the church and the community. She was quoted as saying, "I always go where Jesus calls me."

Clara has been a challenge because like Tubman and Sojourner, I did not draw her first. I started painting directly on the black boards without getting the composition down first. However after repainting certain parts of her face, I was able to finally get her looking much better. What a drastic change from beginning to end. I have a lot more to do to get her back on track.  I will have the final image posted on my website. Like the others in the series, this is also a 2'x3' painting on particle board. 

Never give up on the difficult paintings. Just keep painting.

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Mahalia Jackson - Women of Courage & Faith Part 3

Mahalia Jackson was a gospel singer from New Orleans, Louisiana who received the first two gold records ever for gospel music. She was also noted for sitting not too far from Martin Luther King Jr. at the march on Washington saying “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” She heard him speak about "His Dream" during a sermon he gave at a Baptist Church sometime prior to the march. King had not planned for it to be a part of his speech but did so in response to her appeal to him from behind. The rest is history.

This is another 2' x 3' black and white painting on particle board. She is also unfinished. However while painting her, I realized that I have gotten faster at painting at this scale. Which is probably why I forgot to take more process photos of her. I will try to video tape the process when I start the next one.

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Sojourner Truth - Women of Faith & Courage Part 2

Sojourner Truth was a former slave, abolitionist, and civil right activist who escaped from slavery at the age 29. She was also the first African American to win a case in court against a white man who illegally sold her five year old son. Truth was born Isabella but changed her name because she believed that the Spirit called her to preach the truth.



I started both Harriet Tubman and Sojourner's portraits without drawing their faces first. This is probably why there's such a dramatic difference from start to the point she is now. She's not finished yet. However, I plan to finish them soon and post them to my website. This painting is on 2'x3' particle board.

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Jack Johnson - History Makers Series

 Jack Johnson,  boxer in the early 1900s who became the first African American heavyweight boxing champion.

 

I have begun a History Makers Series and Johnson is one of four that I have started. A total of three images were used for this painting. I started this portrait using one image of his face, but decided to change it to one showing his teeth. I left the entire painting black and white except for his teeth that are painted gold as Johnson was known for having gold teeth. This is another  2'x3' painting on particle board. The final image will be posted to my website once it's completed.

Harriet Tubman: the Moses of her time. - Women of Courage & Faith Series

One of my current series is Women of Courage and Faith. It is a series of 2' x 3' portraits painted with black and white acrylic paint on particle board. When I think of the combination of both courage and faith - Harriet Tubman comes to mind first.

Here a few facts about Harriet Tubman's courage from the National Women's History Museum

1. When she was about 12 years old, Harriet Tubman was ordered to help tie up a captured slave.  Realizing the escapee was about to be whipped, she refused to secure him for the pending punishment. The slave master angrily responded by hurling a two-pound weight at the girl, hitting her in the head. Tubman sustained an injury that resulted in a lifetime of throbbing headaches and unexpected episodes of narcolepsy, which caused her to fall into a deep sleep with little warning.

2. At age 29 she was able to escape the Maryland plantation she worked up the eastern seaboard to Pennsylvania. Unlike most runaways, however, Tubman did not remain on free soil. For the next several years, she repeatedly returned to the South, spiriting other slaves out of bondage

3. As part of the Underground Railroad, she made 19 trips into slave holding states, leading some 300 individuals to a new life in the areas that had banned slavery. To help support her efforts, Tubman worked in a Philadelphia kitchen. She eventually became one of the Railroad’s best “conductors,” earning the dubious distinction of a having a $40,000 reward posted for her capture or death.

4. For all the recriminations directed at her by displeased plantation owners throughout the South, Tubman was never caught and never lost a “passenger.” As part of the Underground Railroad network, she successfully employed a variety of escape and evasion methods to help aid fleeing slaves. Disguise was a favorite. If it was announced that a group of male slaves had bolted from a plantation, she dressed the fugitives as women for the trip north.

5. Tubman was vitally important to the Union war effort. Utilizing the extensive knowledge of the South she had obtained while working for the Underground Railroad, Tubman was able to provide accurate intelligence data to Northern troops.

6. Tubman also became a respected guerrilla operative for the Union Army’s, waging unconventional warfare against a variety of targets behind enemy lines. For one mission, she led a raiding party through dense woods and swamps, harassing Confederate positions along the way.

7. Encountering homeless slaves during her different forays into Rebel held territory, she helped find many of these displaced men and women food, shelter, and even jobs in the North.

Read more here


Sojourner Truth up next - Thanks for reading