Portraits

[pegkerr]

I read this interesting article on the blog Jane Austen's World [janitesonjames] about the making of silhouettes, which was hugely popular and inexpensive way to capture likenesses before photography was invented. Those of you who saw the movie "Sense and Sensibility" may remember the scene where Marianne creates a silhouette of Willoughby, using a candle and graphing paper.

It made me think about the human impulse to capture the likeness of loved ones. I do this by having pictures taken of our family, and as you know, they have given me a great deal of pleasure. I've mentioned previously my family's connection with the artist Richard Serrin, and the picture he painted of our family, placing us all in a piazza in Italy.

Besides these instances, I sat for a portrait with an artist when I was nine years old. Mom and Dad commissioned one of each of their children when we were on vacation in Rockport, Massachusettes, and the four portraits hung on the wall in our family room for years (Mom and Dad, do you still have those portraits? They're not hanging on your wall in your new home presently, I believe?) I remember very well sitting for that portrait, and being so fascinated by how the artist captured my face (I thought) so exactly. When it was done, my parents decided that they didn't quite like the color of the checking on my dress (it was lavender) and so the artist re-touched it, changing the lavender striping to blue. I remember thinking how strange that was, to have such an exact replica of my face and yet to change the detail of what I was wearing. Sort of a non-photographic version of Photoshop.

When I was in my teens, my dad took a sketching class, and he invited me to come to one class to act as the model (fully clothed, honest!) One of the artists gave me her sketch of my face when the class was over, and I've kept it in my genealogy box, as a picture of myself at that age.

Then, of course, there are the caricatures I've occasionally had made at amusement parks, parties, etc.

Have you ever sat for a portrait, in oils or pen drawing or otherwise? What was the occasion? Were you happy with the result? Can you post a picture of it? What do you think is gained by having a portrait in an artistic medium other than photography?

Comments

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

Oh, I used to go to meeting fairly frequently when I lived there--I was an attender at Florida Street, and loved the YAF group there. Up here, besides the FUM co-membership of the meetings which annoys me on an intrinsic level, I find the YAF group to be not as well organized. (Which creates a vicious circle--if it was more fun to go to, I'd go more often, and if I went more often, I'd feel moved to organize more YAF activities , and if there were more YAF activities organized, it would be more fun to go to. )

[kinetikatrue]

Heh. I just spent Saturday afternoon at FMW - for Interim Meeting sessions, and one of the topics on the agenda (as it has been for several years now) was the current state of BYM's relationship to FUM. It was terribly, um, interesting. Particularly at the end, when use of logic went right out the window.

As for YAF groups, I rather wish I belonged to one of the meetings with its own, though I've a good many friends scattered througout the YM as a whole (and I'm looking forward to the December conference at Homewood on 'Sharing Out Spiritual Journeys'). Still, I understand that vicious cycle of increasing disinclination - 's like exercise: if you get out there and do it and you remember that it makes you feel good, then you maybe do it more often and it feels even better and so on. But if you don't get out there and do it, then all you remember is how much work it is and how tired you feel after and so you don't do it and don't do it and only keep remembering the annoying bits.

So, er, yeah. Enough of the tortured metaphor.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

I really love Cambridge meeting, and I would transfer my membership, but that feels like support of FUM to me, so I haven't been able to do it. This year's NEYM had the FUM talk as well--I think officially the main issue right now is the employment requirements (the 'no sex outside of marriage' bit, specifically, which is probably BYM's issue as well.) One of our former house directors is really pushing the NEYM about it, I think--she also is a product of PYM. The bad thing about growing up in PYM is you expect everything to be liberal and hippie-ish, and it's not.
And I know YAF stuff would easier if I would try. It's just--FMW had a really great outreach for new people, and regular YAF events after meeting (planned potlucks, and unplanned, 'lets go get coffee." Cambridge, they forget I've been going there for three years (and okay, I don't attend as often as I should.), and they do NOTHING organized or otherwise after morning meeting, which in my book is the only sensible time for a sunday meeting, and the organized YAF thing runs up against my twice-monthly house meeting. And yes, I could say, "this is what we're going to do after meetings on sundays," and people probably would do it. But the fact is, I don't feel like I know people well enough to do that. And until I get to spend more time with them, I won't know them well enough. Another vicious cycle.