Remembering Ryan Otto

Ryan Otto, graphite, 9x12", 2009

I received this beautiful, priceless sketch of Ryan at the first Camp Smile A Mile program for families that have lost a 'camper' to cancer. Words cannot express my gratitude to Jared, a very talented and generous artist, who gave to me this gift that has captured Ryan so completely. He even managed to capture that mischievous gleam in his eye which is awesome because of the fact that Jared never got to meet Ryan! Ryan was a sweet child who was never any trouble. He loved everyone and he loved life! Even on the worst days of his life if you asked him how he was doing, he would always say "I"m good"! I have often told people that Ryan managed to accomplish more in his 14 years than I had in 41! That's how old we were when he went to live forever in heaven. I am now 43 but Ryan will be 14 Forever. What a testimony Ryan lived to life! He touched everyone who entered his life right up to the moment he left us! I miss him more than words can ever express, so you can imagine how grateful I am to have this portrait of my son, which I will cherish forever. Thank You again and God Bless you in all your future endeavors! - Michelle Huckabee

I would like to add that I truly enjoyed doing Ryan's portrait. It is important to me that each portrait comes as close to exactly matching the personality of the photo reference as possible. Sometimes I decide to make alterations for the portrait, like omitting background noise in the setting or simplifying clothing so as not to take away from the figure's portrait. Ryan's portrait is an example of what I did in many of the Camp SAM portraits because his shirt is white. Originally, Ryan had on a colorful and slightly distracting T-shirt. I chose to give him the appearance of wearing a white shirt, as I did for many of the children's portraits. I thought this was not only better for the focal point of Ryan's face but I thought that it was rightly symbolic of the purity of youth and the sacredness of each of these young kids. It was my honor to complete a portrait for Ryan. My prayers are with his family; may many more joys come into their lives and may their memories be filled with love. - Jared Kelley

Remembering Andrew Long

Andrew Van Long
December 22, 1998 – September 20, 2007
Andrew was born on December 22 but we brought him home on Christmas day. What a wonderful reminder of the gift that was his life. He was kind hearted, sweet and stubborn. He loved to laugh and would talk with you at length on just about any subject. He had a mop of blonde hair and the most beautiful blue eyes. Andrew lived for just over 8 ½ years; valiantly battling cancer for more than 3 of them. We could not be more proud of him and we will never forget him. - Anne Long

Another Charity Event

Rocking Chair for Charity

Here's another fun piece that I recently finished for a local charity which helps protect abused children. I knew right away when I received the unfinished wooden rocker that I wanted to do something that would impress all who view it. This meant that I would have to abandon the common "charity chair" color scheme which consists of every bold color on an artist's palette.

I have grown more enamored with patterns over the years and this was a great opportunity to put them to use. I selected several patterns with high contrast and placed them all over the chair. Since my chair was child sized, I used dimensional paints for the header board at the top of the chair. I posted a couple shots of this so that you can see the cool texture which it left. I thought this would be a fun additive, especially for children.

Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope that my chair pulls the highest bid at the auction. - Jared

After a Long Sabbatical....

Made You Smile, painted sheet metal cut-out

Well it's been a terribly long break from posting! Since my last post (about 6 months ago) I have been involved with several side jobs, namely filling in as a long-term visual art substitute at a local arts middle school. Baldwin Magnet Middle School was actually the school that I attended when I was in Jr. High. The art teacher at Baldwin went on Maternity leave early due to complications with her pregnancy so I was able to teach art in a public school setting for the first time in my life. I was there from January 6th until April 13th. It was actually more awesome than I had anticipated. I will post several images of my time there in the near future.

This flower painting was a piece that I did for the American Red Cross here in Montgomery, AL. They hold a charity auction each year and invite local artists to paint garden accessories made of sheet metal. This year I was invited and I was given this large flower to decorate. I thought it came out fairly well. My inspiration for the piece was a mix between Anne Geddes and cabbage patch kids. The execution of this initial idea produced unexpected results. The child's face was a little too realistic, pushing the painting too close to a portrait - and who wants a portrait of a random child in their garden?! So I decorated the petals to the maximum in order to pull the viewer's attention from the face. I considered writing "I Have a Stamen!" in the petals but then decided that "Made You Smile" might be a little more safe. Overall I am pleased with the outcome and can't wait to see how well it does in the auction.