In this month’s “Color Sphere” exhibit, the Gilham Award went to Christine Lashley for Margaret, an appropriately colorful portrait of her daughter. Juror Lee Boynton called the oil painting “evocative and full of great color and emotion.” We asked Christine about the painting, her views on color, and her artwork in general.
How was Margaret painted?
Christine: Margaret was painted “alla prima” (all at once) with M. Graham oils – these paints are extra buttery and I can layer strokes of bright colors together and get a juicy look. I had my daughter pose for me and I took some photos of her slouched on the sofa with the afternoon light streaming in the window behind her. I had painted her from life (in watercolor) and I wanted to an oil in the studio. When I was painting I asked her to come in to the studio and look at me a few times.
The idea for the painting was how she looked to me at the time she was sitting on the sofa. I liked that she looked natural, and not posing with a frozen smile for the camera. I wanted to portray a mix of my feelings as her mother and of her feelings as an individual.
Since this month’s theme was color, what is your philosophy on color, and how do you know which one to reach for — for example, the reds and blues in the subject’s hair? What is color’s place in a successful painting?
When I fully understand a subject and have a very clear idea of what to paint and why, the color choices seem to jump onto the canvas. Color is personal. So, my color choices are very intuitive. It’s a wonderful feeling when a painting seems to paint itself. That’s what happened here. At first, I had a more traditional (vertical) composition sketched in with a burnt umber drawing (much more conventional). But this looked boring and did not convey an emotional impact very well, so I wiped the whole thing off, turned the canvas horizontal, and started the head larger, with bold, bright color and a large brush. It was really fun to start over and slash away at the first, boring attempt. Continue reading Q&A with Award-Winner Christine Lashley
