Drama of the past 9 months ...
Covid came, went, and now is back again, with life's joys ebbing along with it. Friends got it, and my family got it and we all survived, thank God. And my artlife limped along with it. With a few shows here and there, there wasn't much inspiration to paint, however posted herein are some portraits that I managed to complete over the long Covid season, and now art seems to be plugging along as we learn to live with this "Elephant in the Room!"
I would love to share the Octopus I painted for my daughter Robin, however it was copied from someone else's painting and cannot be shown or published anywhere. The beauty of becoming an artist is that I can copy any wonderful work of art and enjoy it for myself, or give it to family. To own a fairly good painted copy of a "Master" work is such a privilege. Any good artist can copy a master, but the composition--now that comes from the master himself! To me, composition is 75% of a fine work, with draftsmanship being only 25%--although there is a great deal of mystery and magic to the handling of the brush and pigment, which you can only copy from first-hand viewing in a museum. So kindly scroll down and enjoy seeing some of my new portrait-ish works.
DRAGON FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTER
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| "Dragon" Oil painting, 28"x36" by Judy Burgarella |
"Dragon" took several months to paint because I hated doing it. I blocked it in and left it out on our Lanai (porch) to dry and didn't pick up the brush to it for a couple of months. This was a gift for my granddaughter, who gave me a crumpled-up faded picture of one to inspire me. After two months her birthday was coming up soon so I HAD to finish it. Well, when I took it up again and started layering in more detail I realized it was really fun painting from my head and using my own imagination.
My granddaughter, who went from loving unicorns to overnight loving Harry Potter with all those witches and dragons, much to my chagrin. She loved her birthday present, and it helped transform her "Unicorn decor" into "HarryPotterville." I'll do more of these, they're such fun!
SPENSER
"Spenser" was a delight to paint, with that sad-sack cute face! When I sent it to the client he said I really captured him, and when he came to pick the painting up I got to meet Spenser (and his whole family!) and by gosh it did look just like him. Painted from a photo with a couple of other references.
"Spenser" Acrylic, 14"x11" (unframed) by Judy Burgarella
ALFRED (FREDDY) HAIR, HIGHWAYMAN ARTIST (1941-1971)
The "Alfred Hair" portrait is part of a series of Highwaymen Artists I plan on painting, a multi-layered project I am working on with my friend Camy DeMario. We hope to launch this year, but who knows. Crazy times with many distractions.
Alfred was a very talented Highwayman artist in the 60's who tragically was killed at the age of 30, as his "star" was rising in his type of art form. "Freddy" lived most of his life in Fort Pierce, Florida, and studied under the famous A. E. (Beany) Backus, a museum of which is named for him and and where his (Beany's) work resides. Many Highwaymen paintings are also housed in the A. E. Backus Museum and Gallery in Fort Pierce, Florida. The Highwaymen were a loosely-organized group of black artists who mostly painted colorful Florida landscapes, painted images that depicted the beauty and drama that was Florida back then. Their work is a visual compilation of the life and beauty of old Florida.
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| "Alfred (Freddy) Hair," Highwayman, 14"x11", Acrylic by Judy Burgarella |
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| "Osceola" Acrylic, 12"x12"x1-1/2" by Judy Burgarella |
"OSCEOLA" and "OSCEOLA DEATH MASK"
I had been researching Chief Osceola, an historic Florida Indian, ever since moving to Florida 15 years ago. I have painted him several times, in oil and pastel, sculpted him in clay to bronze, and now painted his image and death mask in acrylics, specifically for a show at Gallery 14 in Vero beach, Florida in the summer of 2021.
Since he died before the advent of photography, there are scant images of him in sketch and paint, some by artists who hadn't ever met him or seen him. However there were many written accounts of his appearance, "countenance," demeanor and dress. He was actually only 1/8 Indian, the rest Scottish, so it is written, and therefor I based my rendition of him on all that I'd read and pictures I'd seen in books.
Some years ago, at the time I was having a bronze of Osceola caste at the Vero Beach Museum, I came across a mention of his death mask in the New York City Historical Society. Soon after while visiting relatives in Connecticut, I drove to New York to have a private showing of the death mask, which was in their archives and not on display. The image of his mask looked different from all the other images I'd seen, however it was probably caste much after his death, after tissue had been drawn downward as liquids settled, possibly changing his appearance. His death and the process of creating the death mask was very gruesome according to written recounts of his death and subsequent preparation for the cast. His life story, capture and death is a dramatic story, well worth reading. An admirable, intelligent and powerful leader who deserves far more tribute than he has received to date. Read the background print closely.
