Dr. Dean VanTrease

Patricia Joyce · 04-24-2008, 10:18 PM

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 · 04-25-2008, 07:49 AM

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 · 04-25-2008, 02:10 PM

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 · 05-01-2008, 10:44 PM

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 · 05-01-2008, 10:58 PM

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

Enzie Shahmiri · 05-02-2008, 01:01 AM

John,

Please accept my delayed congratulations!

Alexandra Tyng · 05-02-2008, 09:07 AM

John,

I saw this in my e-mails but I missed it here, as I was looking in Unveilings for the Seasoned Pro." (That is, after all, how I think of you.) What a GREAT idea! The chairs function perfectly as a compositional element, very effective in the abstract. They also make this portrait entirely personal and professional at the same time. We should all take a lesson from you. Plus, chairs have so much symbolism here. There is the reference to his contribution to the school and his interest in making the seating comfortable. But his desire that everyone be comfortable is a reflection on his personality, which you have shown so well. His face says "Welcome," and his hands on the chairs seem to say, "Have a seat."

It's also so well painted (not surprisingly) and confident as a portrait. Good luck on your current commission.