Saturday, May 21, 2016

Portrait of Judge Esther Wiggins

Judge Esther Wiggins
I have been working on a commission since December 2015 on a project for Arlington County. It was to do a portrait of a retiring judge from the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for the 17th Judicial District.  I wasn't able to put photos up as I worked on it because they were going to have an unveiling of it in May.

Yesterday was the day that the portrait was presented at the courthouse of Arlington County, and it will hang in the courtroom that Judge Wiggins presided over for the last 18 years. It was a lovely ceremony honoring Judge Wiggins.

It was an honor to be selected as the portrait artist to paint Judge Wiggins.  It was also an honor to get to know her as I painted this portrait.  I know that Arlington County has lost a caring judge, and she will be missed.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The May 2016-The Art League Show

Ebb and Flow
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Art League, located in the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, is having their monthly juried show.  I entered an abstract piece and was lucky to be chosen.  I'm not an abstract painter, and this is actually the last abstract I ever plan to do.  It's too damn hard!  I'm not one to paint and let the painting lead me to where it wants to go.  I'm more of a planner.  Anyway, I was working on this piece, and I tried to lift some color out of a spot where I didn't mean to put it.  When I did, it looked like a stone under water.  So I decided to lift more, until I had many stones.  So maybe there are rocks and seashells in this piece, too.  I really don't know.  It just happened after much fussing and aggravation. I do like the colors, though.  It was a total experiment. I'm glad the juror liked it enough to put it into the show.

The May show at The Art League  will hang for the month of May.  If you are down in Old Town, stop by and see the show.  And when you see my piece, you'll know that you are witnessing the last abstract I ever plan to do.  I must admit through life experiences, that one should never say never.