This would not entirely fit with Member Portraits From Life forum. It's much the opposite situation. Not because these weren't from life, because they absolutely were; but because a member has sat and posed for seven non-member students, in this case! Well actually there was another eighth one painting me who is indeed a Forum member (Alex Tyng); so I guess it does qualify for Member Portraits From Life, after all!
Alex Tyng teaches a portrait class at the Wayne Art Center, west of Philadelphia in the Main Line suburbs, on Monday mornings. The problem with Monday mornings often is the realization of a lack of a professional model being available sometime over the weekend. Alex called me in earnest, and convinced me to pose for her class over one such trying weekend (well she did the same for me last year, so I owed her)! Two consecutive Mondays at three hours each seemed to work out.
It's interesting to pose for the first time; sitting dead still, surrounded by eight interesting women carefully reading me. Now I know what a model experiences. I imagined in the silent pose that I never moved or wavered a centimeter, but several times one would point out that my head had moved and drifted. Both mornings, I had to remedy some severe drowsiness by slipping two quarters into the pod brewing coffeemaker in the staff kitchen. Posing and modeling is not so easy, I learned. I had to deal with a bright spotlight on the right side periphery of my view of the class. Alex herself set herself up at the far left side view, where I was only seen in razor thin rim lighting.
For the few accumulated minutes Alex managed to paint between guiding and teaching the rest of her class, she came out with an interesting portrait betraying her immense experience. Below are grouped all eight portraits of me from various angles from my right lit side to my left dark side. Both Alex and her class and I thought it would be fun to share these portraits here. All happened in the six hours allotted, and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering at last what I look like.
I bet you can immediately pick out Alex's portrait of me. I wore a tan cashmere jacket, and brown polkadot shirt resembling a neck-tie fabric (although no one painted those dots).
Enjoy,
Garth
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