A Mother and Daughter Portrait

On my website, in the about the artist section, I have this written artist statement --

Art is beauty in ordinary moments.

Subject matter for my paintings is propelled by my personal belief that common moments are beautiful and worth capturing in a two-dimensional format. There is a realistic quality to my work, but it is more about a moment, rather than focusing on details. Because my eyesight is bad, my work is slightly out of focus. Even so, the general impression is one of tranquility. I call my style "fuzzy realism".

I love painting figurative work and portraits and prefer working in oils on linen.

It is always a privilege to be commissioned to paint a portrait of a loved one. Capturing delight, beauty, and emotion in an everyday moment is at the core of what I work to portray as a visual artist. 

For my most recent commission, we scheduled a photo shoot so there would be something fresh and current to use for reference photos. It was my first time to visit at length with the mother and I sort of fell in love with her. Which in a way helps, because of out of the dozens of wonderful reference photos from the photo session, four poses stood out above the rest, all of which resonated with beauty and charm. To select the pose to use for this painting, I cut out two 18" x 24" canvas sized pieces of cardboard, and sketched the four poses in thinned oil paint on the front and back of the cardboard. After studying each pose carefully, and weighing the pros and cons of each, I selected my favorite pose. 

Often, what looks good in a photograph doesn't translate well on a canvas. Many times in the past, I have sketched (in thinned oil paint) on the canvas and wiped off repeatedly until one sketch prevails. Sometimes the sketches don't completely wipe off, and then I end up starting a painting with a muddied canvas. By sketching on cardboard first this time, I was able to avoid the muddied canvas phase of the process and select the pose that stood out above the others -- the pose that represented the sweetness of this mother and daughter relationship -- and the pose that looked the best in an 18" x 24" format. This was that pose. 

A Mother and Daughter Portrait, oil on linen, 18" x 24"

For this painting, I changed the color of the mother's top from black to a red violet. Also toned down the distracting, busy background so that the viewer could focus on the subjects rather that darting all over the canvas to look at wrought iron fences and barren winter shrubs.

Edit: This is what the daughter in the portrait, Dovie, posted about the painting and her mother. 

This is a portrait of legacy that feels apt during Women's History Month. Sarah Hazel recently captured this beautiful moment between me and my mom as my gift for her upcoming 80th birthday. I can't stop looking at it.

A few months ago, I was asked to write about two people I respect or admire most. I wrote about my mother and my grandmother.

My mom - Helen Marie Vaughan Keprta - worked for the same company for 30 years, and would tell you today that her very best friends in life were made at work. She was trusted immensely by everyone from the receptionist to the CEO, often referred to as "Dr. Keprta" (as both a psychologist and as an quasi-MD who typically gave the real docs a run for their money when it came to diagnosing her colleagues' ailments). My mom worked her whole life to give me every opportunity at a fulfilled, happy life. She made many sacrifices, only some of which I'm aware. She taught me my work ethic and the value of a hug. And, she learned a lot of what she taught me from my grandmother.

My grandmother was a strong woman in the prime of her life in the 1930s when she divorced her first husband (for reasons) in an era when that was not the done thing. After that, she made her own way by starting a boarding house business, where she met her future love, my grandfather. She taught her children to be independent, how to stand up for yourself when nobody else is standing up for you and how to love others well.

I am eternally grateful to them. I am humbly conscious that I stand on tall shoulders as I reach every new milestone or achievement in life, personally or professionally. And in this moment, I'm mindful that every life I touch through my own life and work is a product of their legacy as well, at least to some degree.