"Transience of Innocence" in Southwest Art Mag

"Transience of Innocence" (pastel, 26x19 inches)


I'm proud to announce that my painting "Transience of Innocence" has won an Honorable Mention in the 2019 Southwest Art Artistic Excellence Competition, and is published in the Dec 2019/Jan 2020 issue (page 70.)
 

Read the article online here. 

 

Read more about this painting's history here!

 

. 

Transience of Innocence - Honorable Mention in Pastel 100

"Transience of Innocence" (pastel, 26x19 inches) sold

I've been bursting with excitement, and had to wait to brag that my painting Transience of Innocence has won an Honorable Mention in the Portrait & Figure Category of the Pastel Journal's 20th annual Pastel 100 competition. A very grateful thank you goes to Diane Rappisi who juried the category!

An image of the painting will be published in the April 2019 issue of Pastel Journal. This is very exciting, as there were more than 2,000 entries!

You can read a bit of the exhibition history of Transience of Innocence on this earlier blog post, and see all the progress shots here, including the photo composition!

Thanks for reading! :)

Chloe through the years

"Chloe" (conte and pastel pencil, 10x8 inches) sold (commission yours for $150!)

I've drawn Chloe every year since she was two. Some years I've drawn her two or three times. I think she must be about 18 now, but I don't like to think about it because it makes me feel old, lol! No, really I think it's wonderful to watch a beautiful girl grow up!

Here are some other portraits of Chloe through the years...

Chloe and her mom

And last year Chloe's mom Clover added an album to Facebook, showing many of the portraits I've done for their family, including some of the cousins and others... See it here! (if it's public)

.

Transience of Innocence - sold!

"Transience of Innocence" (pastel, 26x19 inches) sold

Just wanted to brag a couple of things about this, one of my most successful competition pieces this year. I'm thrilled to say that she has found a buyer at The 45th PSA Annual Exhibition: Enduring Brilliance! which runs from September 5 – September 30, 2017 at the National Arts Club, New York, NY.

At the end of the PSA show she will be shipped to her permanent home in Alabama (Thanks, Carrie!)

Transience of Innocence has has a short but eventful exhibition career. Finished in January of this year, she was first accepted into the Hudson Valley Art Association' 84th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in New York City in April, returning in time to drive with me in June to the International Association of Pastel Societies 4th Masters Circle Exhibition in Albuquerque, NM.

Her most thrilling recognition was being chosen for the cover of the IAPS Convention Program, and through the gossip grapevine, enjoyed tremendous popular appeal in that exhibit. (And by judge Albert Handell's own admission, was only three or four positions away from garnering an award, had the competing works been different, or had more awards been available.)

Well, the current PSA show will be her final stop on the competition circuit. But you can look back on more of this painting's history on her original blog post, where I show and tell about the thoughts behind the painting, and the progress of the painting's creation.

Thanks for reading! Please share!

.

Transience of Innocence

"Transience of Innocence" (pastel, 26x19 inches)  $3600

I'm thrilled to share the news that this, my latest large figurative painting, will be in two prestigious exhibits one after the other this spring and summer. Later next month she goes to the Hudson Valley Art Association' 84th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in New York City, returning in time to drive with me to the International Association of Pastel Societies 4th Masters Circle Exhibition in Albuquerque, NM.

Here's her itinerary:
HVAA 84th Annual, April 30 - May 5 at the Salmagundi Club Gallery, 47, 5th Ave, NYC
IAPS 4th Masters Circle, June 7-10, 2017, at the IAPS 2017 Convention, Albuquerque, N.M.


The idea for this painting started with a photo of my daughter from one of the many vacations from years past. Audrey was curled up on the hotel bed as was her habit, and (as these things usually start) I was attracted by the light and put my camera into action.

Well, this shot caught my eye again last year when digging deep for ideas in my photo files. It probably stayed buried for as long as it had because of that absolutely hideous bed spread!

Looking with fresh eyes, I realized it just needed some cropping and some new drapery. I threw a sheet across my own bed and experimented with various swags...

...and introduced some onto the photo,

until I found an arrangement I liked, then tested some color variations...

I stuck with the deep red, adjusted shadows and highlights, and stretched the fabric part of the composition to fit the frame I had in mind. When I was done composing, I liked standing-on-end egg shape and the powerful red color, which I was sure could lend some symbolism to aid in my title search. (This one didn't present me with it's title until after the painting was finished; sometimes it happens that way.)

All that was left was the painting! Starting with the underpainting:

And the pastel:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

Portrait Commissions, and New Drawings Website!

"Family Selfie" (conte and pastel pencils, 22x12 inches) sold

One of my favorite commissions of the Christmas Season, this "family selfie" is the perfect modern portrait! The client was so excited to have me draw her daughter and grandkids from this candid shot that her granddaughter took. And what a shot! All smiles, no blinks, no blurries, and the composition is amazingly strong. Wish they were all this easy!

This is one of several new portraits I have on my newly-redesigned mobile-friendly Drawings Website for my pencil portraits, created on SquareSpace. Check it out! Same URL at RitaKirkmanDrawings.com.

"Granddaughter and Friend"  (conte and pastel pencils, 15x12 inches) sold

This was another favorite commission of the Season. Who can resist a pet pig?

To commission your favorite photo into a Detailed Portrait Drawing, see my prices and ordering info on my new drawings website!

Familiar - Finalist in Richeson75 Small Works Exhibit

"Familiar"  (pastel, 8x10 inches)  $1350

I'm happy to announce that my painting, Familiar, has been chosen as a Finalist in the Richeson75 Small Works Competition 2017, which will be exhibited at the Richeson School of Art and Gallery in Kimberly WI, February 22 - April 8, 2017.

Familiar is a two-time award winner from other national exhibits last year, and is in the prime of her eligible competition age. She will be thrilled to travel once again before finding her permanent home!

Below are some never-before-posted progress shots of Familiar! (just a few of many throughout her long process..)

Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

Awards: Two Thirds!

"Familiar" (pastel, 8x10 inches)  $1350

And

"The Fairy Rose" (pastel, 9x12 inches)  sold

Have, coincidentally, both won Third Place Awards at their respective exhibits on Saturday.

"Familiar" is showing at the Pastel Society of New Mexico's 25th Annual National Pastel Painting Exhibition in Albuquerque, at the Hispanic Arts Center through November 27.

"The Fairy Rose" is with the Pastel Society of Southeast Texas, Art of the Pastel 2016 through November 26, at The Gallery at Round Top in Round Top, TX 

If you're in the areas, hope you get a chance to see the show(s)!

.

8x10 Commissioned Pencil Portrait

A Pencil Portrait commission (Conte pencil and pastel pencil, 10x8 inches) sold

I've been working on a couple of portrait commissions today, so thought I'd post one. This is not today's. I never post the current one until the gift is given, so as not to spoil the surprise! But this is one that I actually have progress shots for, so I thought it might be interesting to post...

You can see more samples of my pencil portraits, along with ordering information on my drawings website: www.ritakirkmandrawings.com
Now is a perfect time to order to avoid the Christmas rush!

Thanks, and please share! :)

.

The Fairy Rose - First Place Portrait

"The Fairy Rose" (pastel, 9x12 inches) $1350

I'm happy to announce that The Fairy Rose has won the prize for First Place Portrait at the Austin Pastel Society Annual Juried Exhibition.

The show remains up through May 1, 2016, at the Chase Bank Building Corridor of Art, 700 Lavaca Street, Austin TX. It can also be viewed online at Flickr HERE.