Portrait of Linda Esposito

Zooming Right Along

Last evening was a grand experiment. The Charleston Artist Guild presented a zoom portrait demo. It was an interesting experience for me. I have come to enjoy the interplay between the people, all gathered in a room together. I derive energy from that. But otherwise, I think it was a worthwhile enterprise. It was a technical feet, to be sure. Fortunately, my lovely subject, Linda Esposito was present in the room with me. I’m pretty sure the portrait would not have turned out as well if I had to paint her over zoom. I’m glad we got a nice portrait of my dear friend. She and I have been friends now, forever, making theatre together, often playing husband and wife. I think she made a fantastic subject. I played with the painting a little, after the fact. I always hesitate to do this. It’s kind of a trade off. Some passages are more accurate or resolved but some of the spontaneity has been lost. You can compare for yourself. To me, a live portrait is about the experience in the moment. I kinda like the original better. I think my desire to please the model interfered with my best instincts as an artist. Lesson learned. Again.

Anyway, there were a lot of great questions from the virtual peanut gallery, so some of the interaction I enjoy was able to happen. This experience does open the door for me to present future demos and perhaps even workshops, via zoom.  Stay tuned for future announcements as events unfold. Meanwhile, thanks to the members of the Charleston Artists Guild, and again, to my beautiful model.