Monday, July 30, 2007

klair & rama & christine

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a couple of years ago, my wife and i arrived too early to a zine symposium. to kill time, we walked to the nearest park. christine sat on the swings. i took a nap on the monkey bars. klair (portrayed above by christine, christine, and me) approached my wife and they made friends.

a few hours later, i was working my table at the zine convention. klair glided by on rollar skates. she looked at my books and asked "did you draw these?" yes. "will you draw me?" sure. while klair sat for me, she farted. "did you hear that?" she asked. yes. "what do you think it was?" the chair? "yeah," she agreed, "it was the chair." i drew two portraits and gave klair the better one.

christine returned from a snack break and drew klair also. klair couldn't wait to draw too. i especially enjoy her take on christine's dimples.

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Friday, July 27, 2007

emile bernard & paul gauguin

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before the internet was around to thread everyone together, artistic friendships were founded upon correspondence and mutual admiration. when van gogh learned that emile bernard was working with paul gauguin, vincent asked bernard to paint gauguin's portrait. bernard was to intimidated to paint the older and better known painter. so, he chickened out and painted a self portrait in van gogh's style with a portrait of gauguin in the background (above). vincent was delighted with the results. included in the package was a self-portrait by gauguin with a portrait of bernard in the background (below).

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

laura park & julia wertz

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i am in awe of laura (portrayed on left/self-portrayed in the middle) and julia (on the far right) who seem to be living an ongoing drawing party. click on their names to see what i mean!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

rama hughes & christine castro

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in honor of the san diego comic-con (which, fingers crossed, my wife and i will be attending in just a few days), here are comics that each of us drew about our first date. the same people, the same evening, the same event, drawn by christine (click her comic above to see a legible version) and me (below).

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Monday, July 23, 2007

seth & chester brown

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comic book artists, seth (portrayed on the left) and chester brown (on the right), are friends and inadvertent portrait partiers. each of them included portraits of each other, discussing their work in progress, in their mostly autobiographical comics: It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken (by seth) and The Little Man (by chester).

Sunday, July 22, 2007

andy warhol & jean-michel basquiat

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if the portrait party were an actual party, warhol and basquiat would be snogging in the corner. they created lots of artwork together. andy silk screened on canvas, posters, and punching bags. and jean-michel drew all over them. these portraits though (above and below) were not collaborations. basquiat painted himself and his friend above and warhol turned basquiat into a david.

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Saturday, July 21, 2007

eric scott & steve loya

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eric (portrayed above) and steve (woodcut below) have been friends for sixteen years and both teach art in loudoun county, virgina WHERE I USED TO WORK!

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

mim stella & sarah biteyourowntail

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i have to apologize to mim (portrayed above). her portrait of sarah (below) is not the one that she wanted to share. she posted her work in progress though. this portrait was her second attempt. she didn't like it as much as her third and final drawing but i found it much more interesting.

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here's why: when it was finished, it looked too real. mim's husband made her pull up one of the corners to prove that it wasn't a photograph. i don't think that realism should be the ultimate goal of art but i do think it's weird and funny that, when art does look too real, we tend to dismiss it. my favorite example might be common knowledge but i feel the need to share it here: rodin began sculpting in the distorted, expressive way for which he became famous because, early in his career, he created a sculpture (a david, i believe) that was too perfectly proportioned. the artistic community refused to believe that it wasn't cast directly from a model's body. rodin was so offended and hurt by their mistrust that he spent the rest of his career avoiding realism. it worked out for the best, i think, but who cares what people think? that perfect david was also an accomplishment.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

steve w. & sarah biteyourowntail

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the portrait party's resident pill,steve (portrayed above), is always excited to add more characters to his cartoon cocktails. in this case, a portrait of sarah in tablet form.

Monday, July 16, 2007

rama hughes & gina triplett

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i am proud to say that i went to school with gina triplett. we weren't good friends but we took many classes together. we got along well and shared some fun moments. we never arranged a portrait exchange but we both drew constantly. accidental portrait parties were unavoidable.

gina drew this cartoon of me on scraps from one of her serious projects. i scribbled a dozen portraits of her (and our other class mates) in the margins on my note books. to be fair though, this doodle of gina was really a portrait of her hat. she wore it almost all the time.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

frank auerbach & lucien freud

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this weekend, i had the opportunity to introduce a friend to two of my favorite artists, frank auerbach (painted above) and lucien freud (etched below). i'm not one of those people who walks around museums talking about the artwork but i surprised myself with how much i had to say about both of these painters. besides the fact that they are awesome, they also happen to be friends and portrait partiers!

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Friday, July 13, 2007

steve w. & sean duggan

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steve (portrayed above) sent his portrait of sean (below) with a mea culpa: he was sorry for how long it took him to complete their portrait swap. he also apologized for suggesting the sean might be impotent.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

jenny vorwaller & wally torta

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jenny (portrayed above) and wally (below) have arrived fashionably late to the portrait party. they've promised milk and oreos though. so, we all love them!

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

miriam stella & kerstin klein

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miriam stella (portrayed above) worried that her drawing of the portrait party's number one booster, kerstin klein, (below) might be the "worst portrait ever done in the history of art." don't worry, miriam. i have seen much worse (usually drawn by people who refuse to try).

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Monday, July 9, 2007

jeremy joe & adam levine

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jeremy (above) and adam (below) didn't have a lot to say about their portrait party but do have a whole, whole lot to say on their blogs. reading is fundamental.

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Sunday, July 8, 2007

webgrl & steve loya

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another partier, webgrl (portrayed above), recruited by steve (portrayed below).

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Friday, July 6, 2007

lynn alpert & adam levine

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lynn (above) and adam (below) have joined the party!

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Thursday, July 5, 2007

alina chau & nina khashchina

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alina (portrayed above) inspires nina (portrayed below) with her lines, colors, and incredible ability to draw before she falls asleep.

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Wednesday, July 4, 2007

brock neilson & steve loya

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just in time for the transformers movie, steve (portrayed above) and brock (below) adopted a theme for their portrait exchange: robots!

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Tuesday, July 3, 2007

ian russell & steve loya

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ian and steve had a hard time getting into the party* but they made it somehow. congratulations on your perseverance, boys!

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*because of computer errors.

Monday, July 2, 2007

rama hughes & christine castro

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the portrait party is back from vacation! among many other things that happened while we were gone, my wife and i got new glasses. she drew me in mine (above) and i drew her in hers (below).

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