Little Bill Engelhart ~ Jazz and Blues Legend

Sometimes I have to stop and pinch myself I have so much fun in this business of art! Especially since starting my FACE project last July. To date I have painted 50 portraits which I call FACEs. (read about  it more here) Recently I met and painted a man who turns out to be a Pacific NW legend in jazz and blues, Little Bill Englehart. For 3 years I have been sweating it out in aerobics class with his wife Jan and had not a clue until a few weeks ago who Bill was. I guess I really don't mind being clueless in this way...it makes for happy surprises and no prejudgment along the way. My time spent painting Little Bill was delightful! He told me stories of his life and I slathered paint!

Last weekend my husband and I took some friends to hear Bill perform with his band Little Bill and the Bluenotes and my life got even better! Without this project I would not have met so many wonderful people and I would have missed out on the privilege of knowing Little Bill and experiencing firsthand his astounding talent, gentle nature, vast story-telling skills and generosity. And his wife Jan is such a dear person who has the energy and spirit of a young girl!

Every painting is a self portrait

"The greatest tool an artist can use is their emotion!" This is the strongest lesson I brought home from St. Petersburg Russian after a 4 week study trip in 2006. Everything we feel is channeled from our souls and out the end of the paintbrush. We cannot avoid it even if we tried!

“EVERY PAINTING IS A SELF PORTRAIT”

I don't know who to credit this saying to but I have heard it plenty of times in my artistic career and whether one is painting a still life, landscape, animal or figure it rings true! Over the past couple of years I have tested the notion to it fullest and now that I am healing from the pain and incapacity I have suffered I can see it more clearly.

The work I produced in the midst of my pain reflected the inward struggles I faced. For the most part the color was a bit dead, the compositions were off and the values wavered in the middle range. Not every painting came off poorly during this time but I now refer to it as my own personal "Dark Ages". Now I am hoping that history repeats itself and I can enjoy a personal Renaissance!

Recently I was lamenting this period to a new artist friend and she gave me a complete new perspective. She said it was good fortune that I had an outlet for my frustrations and pain. If I did not paint my issues out then they would have bottled up even more. So…I am thankful for my art in a whole new manner and will continue to paint “self portraits” with even more passion and freedom!