Beyond Appearances: Intricate Portraits - Past, Present, Future

In Honor of Women's History Month

GE Women's Network celebrates 15th Anniversary with ART

Beyond Appearances: Intricate Portraits – Past, Present, Future

Four of my works are being shown alongside the work of four other women artists in this exhibit at the General Electric Headquarters  in Fairfield, CT. The show is up through April 26, 2013.

The show is curated and arranged by Picture That, LLC, a company that specializes in promoting cultural awareness through the arts.

From the GE Cultural Fine Art Gallery website: "The portraits presented in this exhibition reveal the thoughts, relationships, and realities that lie beyond the surface. Dreams, recollections, and connections between generations are captured across the selected canvases."

"Flight Plan", 23x32, oil

Dreams of Flying, oil, 18x24 

"Oracle", 22x30, Charcoal and Pastel

“Mary Lee as Artemisia Gentileschi” Incognito Project, 16x16,  oil

Terry's work is "...focused on the inner workings of her subjects' hearts and minds. The personalities and individual stories that simmer within a woman's subconscious are on display in most of her work.

While Mathis's fixation on the Early Renaissance is literal, Strickland goes a step further, portraying her subject as a famous 17th Century painter in "Mary Lee as Artemisia Gentileschi." Not only is she juxtaposing histories, but delving and pulling each in to the other to form a new context in which Gentileschi and Mary Lee represent an artistic paradigm.

In other works, the psychic symbolism of flight is also on display, as Strickland defines the intuitive desire to soar in both "Dreams of Flying," and "Flight Plan." By transforming and taking to the sky, Strickland's subject is able to find new heights and visualize new perspectives beyond her position on the ground."

"Madame and the Madonna Enthroned", Oil, Barbara Mathis

"Dana Watkins and Shirley Chisholm",  Acrylic, Simone Spruce-Torres

"Time Enough",  Upcycled Junk Mail, Greeting Cards on Canvas,  Sandhi Schimmel Gold

"The Icon", Oil,  Norma Greenwood

My painting “Mary Lee as Artemisia Gentileschi” is part of The Incognito Project. More information and details about the painting can be found on pages 38-41 of the book about the project.

Here's is a recent interview I did with ABC 33/40's Dave Baird about The Incognito Project.

Fortunate To Be At Robert Lange Studios

Chinese proverbs found in the tradition of fortune cookies inspired the premise of this group show in Charleston, SC. The show is built around "Brilliant" work, Jonathan Brilliant that is, and his Field of Good Fortune Series.

One of Jonathan's large metal sculptures will be in the center of the gallery and Robert Lange Studios' artist's and invited guest artists work, based on the theme, will hang around it on the walls.

Framed beside each work of art will be the tiny fortune cookie proverb that is linked to the piece. I thrilled to be showing again with the wonderful artists at RLS!

Oracle, 30x22, charcoal and pastel on paper

Oracle's fortune cookie proverb

Oracle appeared in American Artist's Drawing Magazine in it's Winter 2011 issue in an article entitled Forming the Figure by Ken Proctor.

Shipping a drawing that is already framed and under glass is always tricky, but she made the journey just fine. The glass was taped and she was wrapped in multiple layers of foam and bubble wrap. Thank you Fed Ex! Here's another post I did about shipping art.

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"Oracle" appears in American Artist's Drawing Magazine, Winter 2011!

 

(On the cover, "Eight Falling on Thirty" by Ian Ingram)

My drawing is included in an article titled Forming the Figure.

"Whether traditional or contemporary, realistic or abstract, an artist's choices concerning the model, pose, and form of a figure are guided by expressive purposes." 

by Ken Proctor

“Oracle” 22x30  Charcoal and Pastel 

Here is an excerpt:

"In our mythologized and ordinary era, how is it possible to revive a myth? To engage the modern viewer, Terry Strickland follows a proven strategy: Artist's as far back as the Renaissance, set historical and biblical scenes in present-day concepts, with the figures wearing contemporary clothing. Defying stereotypes about gypsyish fortunetellers, Strickland’s Oracle appears to be an ordinary, modern woman.

Clothing is a powerful symbol for an artist to characterize a figure.  A suit speaks of facts, a gown of glamor. But hidden or forbidden truths, as an oracle might deliver, come not from the exterior but from inspiration within, beyond everyday experience. To peel away the the outer, workaday world, Strickland posed her model stripped to a slip.  Symbolically stripping enables revelation. Like her slip, the oracle's skin is light and clear. Dark hair, stark shadows, and a dramatic lighting heighten her fair skin. The combined effect, rendered in a straightforward, realistic style, transforms an ordinary woman into an archetypal virgin-priestess.

Although it stretches the bounds of a contemporary setting, the oil lamp is plausible, familiar. Light is a powerful symbol-light shining out of darkness suggests mystical revelation. And who would seek the truth with a light bulb?  Fire is primal.  It's flickering fragility of fire suggests the tenuous nature of fortune and fate. Glass, the impossibly mysterious product of fire-hard as a rock yet transparent, with it's inscrutable lens effect. No wonder fortunes manifest in crystal balls. 

Whereas layers of meaning in collage depend on overlapping real materials, Strickland created a double meaning through conventional realism and a pose carefully constructed to occupy two layers of space. In a dramatically Baroque gesture, the oracle thrusts out her lamp. She appears to hold it with smoke to her nose and flame to her heart, calling to mind the legend of the Oracle of Delphi, which postulates that priestesses breathed intoxicating vapors to induce a trance. The lamp seems to project beyond the picture plane; the mesmerizing flame--the light of mystical truth--hovers right before our eyes."

Pretty cool, huh? The article in it's entirety is very thought provoking, siting Ingre, Degas, Chagall, Kokoschika, Modigliani, Diebenkorn, de Kooning, and Therese Bauer.

He put into words how I felt about the piece so well, concepts that for me were not so much conscious thoughts but feelings, and to know those ideas were experienced by a thoughtful and receptive viewer is wonderful for me!

The magazine is available at book stores now and through the website.

Here are other posts I've done about "Oracle".

Principle Gallery Drawings Exhibition

   

This is the invitation for Principle Gallery's Drawings Exhibition opening later this month with it's breathtakingly beautiful drawing by Adam Vinson on the front. 

I have two charcoal and pastel drawings in the show, both are explorations of the magical world. The gallery asked for a statement about my drawings which turned out to be an interesting exercise in analyzing my approach to drawing.

I think of my drawings as dry-media paintings with the same conceptual themes and attitude as my oil paintings. I see the world in terms of mass, volume, light and shadow rather than in lines and my drawings and paintings both reflect that.

I routinely attend a life drawing group to sharpen my drawing skills and to fully understand anatomy. When working from multiple photographs as I frequently do,  it’s important to understand that the camera can flatten an image. As an artist I want to reinterpret that flattened image into a life-like painting.

My finished drawings often include mixed-media, conte crayon, pastels, charcoal or graphite in pencil, stick or powder form, whatever it takes to realize my vision!

"Mage", 22x16  

 

 

 

 "Oracle", 30x22 

These drawings will be shown with the drawings of 24 other artists, regulars from the gallery's stable. This is the first drawing show for Principle Gallery and I'm thrilled to participate!

Magic in my very first blog post, and more magic in this post about a painting "In Defiance of Gravity".

"Oracle", the painting.

A few other Strickland drawings, or visit the Principle Gallery Blog.

It's a "Mad Science" Year

"Mad Science" has been recognized with an honorable mention in the Art Center Renewal’s 2010 International Salon. “Oracle”, charcoal, and  “Like Breath on Glass”, oil, were also recognized as finalists in this year’s competition. For my art to be included alongside these artist's whose work that I have stalked for years is an unbelievable honor!

Later this fall "Mad Science" will be in Direct Art Magazine along with my painting "Enlightenment". That is an annual NY bookazine,  since 1996, that highlights 23 artists each publication. It is always an interesting and edgy group of artists from all media so I am thrilled to be included!

The drawing "Oracle" is still available. "Like Breath on Glass" has sold to a Lebanese collector. How cool is that?

ARC 2009-2010 International Salon Competition

Hyper Realism Show, Mayer Fine Art, Norfolk, VA

I'll be participating the "Hyperrealism Show" at Mayer Fine Art in Norfolk, Virginia. The opening is Sat. April 10, 7:00-9:00pm. I'll have seven works in the show and am one of four artists included. The show is the brain child of Sheila Giolitti, artist, and gallery director/owner. The show will run through June 13, 2010.

Sheila has chosen the following works for  the show. Fresh off the easel, Don't Blink, 30x40, oil on panel.

A few details.

Oracle, 22x30,  charcoal on toned paper.

 Flight Plan, 23x32, oil
 On With the Show, 30x22, oil

 Near at Hand, 47x32, oil

Enlightenment, 24x24, oil on panel.

And lastly a small study for the Don't Blink painting, Strike Two, 3.5"x5.5", oil.

I'll be in good company with other artists Michael Fitts, Sharon Moody, Rieneke Leenders.

While I'm in town I've been invited to give a slide talk about my work for Mark Miltz's Painting 1 & 2 classes at Thomas Nelson Community College. Mark and I are long time friends. We met when we were both silk screen artists for the imprinted sportswear company "World Class" in Florida.
Mayer Fine Art 

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"Oracle", Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends

This is a painting called, "Oracle" it's part of my Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends Series. It's 20x16 in an oval format. The idea of an oracle as a medium for revelation is provocative and one I have enjoyed exploring. Technically this is one of the trickiest faces I've every painted because of the strange blue reflected light and the golden up-light from the lamp.

 

I used a combination of different exposure photographs for reference because of the nearly impossible lighting situation and to get the various levels of detail I wanted. I left the still life set up and painted that from life sheltering the still life from the light shining on the canvas and palette.

Too much studio light killed the drama and the color in the still life so I was practically painting this in the dark. The colored lights reflecting on fabric and flesh were luscious to look at and a challenge to paint.

 I thought this image was so strong and the expression so mysterious that I decided to do another version in charcoal and pastel on a warm gray paper. This piece is 30x22.

 

Both of these pieces will be in my Mississippi University for Women show at Eugenia Summers Gallery, Oct 8-Nov 4, 2009, Reception Oct 23. More about this show on my blog from Sept 13.