Dr. Dean VanTrease

[John Reidy]

It has been a while since I have posted anything and I thought I'd share this recent painting with you.

It is a portrait of Dr. Dean VanTrease measuring 34 in. x 56 in. oil on stretched linen.

Dr. VanTrease is the just retired president of Tulsa Community College. I have sent an email to the offices of TCC for their review so I hope I am not jumping the gun here.

The pose is from their request of a 3/4 figure, standing. I suggested adding the chairs after I heard of Dr. VanTrease's notable addition of a state of the art performing arts center. Dr. VanTrease gave me the tour and it is beautiful with labs for instruction in lighting, music, costume design and creation, set design and building plus a full stage for productions.

The story of the chairs comes from Dr. VanTrease taking a personal responsibility to ensure that the theater had comfortable seats. He would have every chair considered placed in his office and every passerby was grabbed and made to sit in the chair and give their opinion. Once I heard that story I felt that the chairs would be just the thing to make this portrait truly his.

My challenge was to create a painting that would carry your eye from top to bottom without it becoming too heavily weighted at either end. I feel that I accomplished my goal and I am waiting for TCC's response.

First is the entire painting and then a close up of the head.

[Tom Edgerton]

John--

Very strong...lots of personality and life. Well done!

-T

[Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco]

I like the colour harmony a lot.
The sitter (stander) comes across as an open and welcoming personality, and the chairs immediately made me think of someone in the performing arts field.
Very nice !
Ilaria

[John Reidy]

Thank you, Ilaria. Indeed Dr. VanTrese was very engaging and easy to approach. He has a wonderful personality and I couldn't ask for a more cooperative sitter (stander, as you put it so well).

And thank you for your comments regarding color harmony and how you easily identified the performing arts aspect.

Tom, I always appreciate your comments. Thank you for your input. I consider that high praise.

I hope to see you on the 18th.

John

[Patricia Joyce]

John,
This is so nice. He looks like a completely approachable man. The hands on the chairs somehow make the facing straight-on pose please, which I would imagine difficult to accomplish.

I am so pleased for you and, hey, hope all is well in sunny Georgia!

Patty

[John Reidy]

Patty,

It's beautiful here (in North Carolina).

I was worried about the hands. Too much detail I was afraid would detract and not enough would weaken the painting. I tried to just do enough for the viewer to appreciate from a distance and not get too detailed. I'll never know if I am successful but that was my thinking.

My brother assisted me in my photography session as he lives in Tulsa. Dr. VanTrease and he hit it off tremendously as the Dr. was adding on to his house and my brother had pretty much rebuilt his entire home. They also had more in common. My niece (my brother's daughter) was student body president at TCC. My brother had met Dr. VanTrease at a school awards ceremony several years earlier. This all was coincidental.

Needless to say Dr. VanTrease was completely engaged with my brother and me and I think it really helped in the photography session.

Have I mentioned I'm Irish?

[Chris Saper]

John,

Congratulations on this successful commission! Not only does the story of the chairs add a dimension, they create a compelling complementary color harmony, as Ilaria pointed out.

[John Reidy]

Thank you, Chris,

This was my most interesting commission to date. The school was very cooperative and open to suggestions once I learned their particular requests. Normally the tall, narrow format would have not been my first choice but when I discovered the idea of the chairs I grew to love the challenge.

Again, thank you. I'm working now on a large commission and, as it turns out it will be posthumous. I'm about half way through and I learned the subject passed away last week. Although I always try to make each painting worth $100,000.00 (Marvin's idea, I'm quite the plagiarist) I can't help but feel a strong personal desire to excel.

I met the subject last fall. He was in his eighty's and the commission is to be of him in his earlier years. He was very much alive and he still had all of his buttons, so to speak, as well as a sparkle in his eye. We have corresponded by mail, too. I grew to know his personality.

This is a very demanding job as the best photos of him were in black and white.

Thanks to some early lessons I picked up here at SOG and have employed I felt up to the challenge.

When I am done I will certainly post it here with the full story.

I apologize for adding this latter post as it doesn't deal directly with the criteria of this category but it helped me to get this off of my chest.

Thank you.

[Chris Saper]

John, Congratulations again on this next project! Please share everything that you can here with us

[Enzie Shahmiri]

John,

Please accept my delayed congratulations!