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Sense of People
Every time I paint a portrait I
lose a friend. - John Singer Sargent
The spirit is the true self.
– Cicero
Capturing the spirit
of a fellow human being is the most daunting challenge an artist
faces. Landscapes are tough enough, but trees don’t complain if
their dress is not just the right shade or their limbs don’t match.
Generally landscape painters do not make the best portraitists. Nor
do studio painters like to brave the weathers to limn the
countryside, although Gainesboro often escaped the studio to paint
beautiful pastorals.
People are often most
themselves when least conscious of themselves and concentrating on
what they love to do and do best. Musicians and dancers are best
shown in the passion of their performance, as are children in their
play. The world is, as Shakespeare said, their stage.
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Click a painting for an enlarged view.
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Grace |
Crosscurrents |
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Rites of Passage |
All Summer Long |
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Streamer |
Painting in the Gorge of the Rio Grande |
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Morning Call |
The Bluegrass Singer |
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Cumberland Gap |
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