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Leah Hopkins Henry Fine Art Newsletter 
Portraits & Other Fine Art 
News From the Painter's Studio
June, 2013
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Hello Friends, Associates, & Fellow Art Enthusiasts,

Happy Summer and Happy Father's Day! It's been quite a while since I have written a newsletter so I hope it isn't too long. I included lots of photos to keep you interested (smile).

 

I just want to let you know a few things that have been happening with my art since the last newsletter as well as some information about the best age for a portrait. I've delivered several portraits which I will share with you here. There have been exciting shows and I want to let you know about a current exhibition in which I won an award.

 

I hope you enjoy these thoughts, highlights and information in this newsletter. I welcome your comments and suggestions, and would like to hear from you.

 

I appreciate your support and hope you keep me in mind for any portrait or painting needs.

Warm Regards,
Leah Hopkins Henry

In This Issue
Award in Portrait Society of Atlanta Summer Exhibition
Red Barn wins Sunflower Award
Portraits at Any Age
Recent AFAL Exhibits
Solarplate Etchings
Flowers Anyone?
A Few of my Latest Portraits
A Mother's Love Wins Award in 
Portrait Society of Atlanta Summer Exhibition 2013
          Red Dress, 20x16, oil on linen
 
                      A Mother's Love, 30x24, oil on line
 
My paintings, "Red Dress" and "A Mother's Love were selected as finalists in the Portrait Society of Atlanta National Juried Summer Exhibition at the Mable House Art Center, 5239 Floyd Rd., Mableton, GA 30126. They will be displayed June 6 - July 11. A Mother's Love was awarded Honorable Mention at the opening reception Thursday, June 13, 7-9PM. The juror for the exhibition is internationally known artist Richard Whitney.
 
 
 
 Red Barn Wins Sunflower Award
redbarn                                                  "Red Barn", 5x7, oil on wood panel 

Red Ba
rn was chosen for the Kerry Aube Lingle Sunflower Award at the Atlanta Fine Arts League Small Works Exhibition at the Limelight Gallery in November 2012. The award was established in 2007 along with AFAL. It is such an honor to receive the only award given at this exhibition. The award is chosen by Pat Aube Gray in memory of her daughter, Kerry, for her giving nature and her love of creativity. Sunflowers were Kerry's favorite flower.
  Portraits at Any Age 
Nate & Ben, 24x36, oil on linen
If you're thinking about a portrait, there is no better time than NOW. I'm often asked what is the best age to have a portrait done. The best answer I can give you is what the current trend is and what my personal opinion is. There are a lot of children's portraits being done between the ages of 2-6, with 4-5 being the most popular.The child looks like the person he or she will become but is the cutest, most alive, and most innocent. The full body ratio fits perfectly on the canvas at this age. If you have the luxury, a full length or at least a three-quarter length of your little one between those ages would be awesome! 

 

I personally think that any age is wonderful. We go through many stages as human beings, from birth, youth, to old age, and I believe that capturing "who" a person is at any stage in life is great. A good portrait artist can see beauty at any age! "There really is no better time than now" sounds a little clich� but think about this; 10 may be better than 15 but then 15 is better than 20, 20 better than 25, 25 better than 30 and so on. You will never be any younger than you are now. I think some good ages or occasions (other than the 2-6 period) are: newborn, 10 years old, the teen years, graduation, engagement, wedding, couple, retirement and family. Also, capturing a person participating in a particular sport or hobby is interesting as well as capturing siblings interacting with each other.

 

In the earlier days of portraiture, the paintings were to memorialize the rich and powerful. Then it became more common for middle-class patrons to have portraits done of their families or colleagues. Today, portraits are still commissioned by government, corporations, groups and individuals. 

Portraits can be done in different mediums which will affect pricing. You may have an oil portrait done at one age and a charcoal drawing at another. The possibilities are endless!


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Recent Atlanta Fine Arts League Exhibits
 
Morning Thoughts, 22x28, charcoal with red & white chalk on tinted paper 
"Morning Thoughts" was part of the Food for Thought Exhibition at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center Gallery in Gainesville, GA in April through June 10, 2013. I just wanted to try something different with this drawing using 3 chalk colors on tinted paper. I kept it loose and tried to make it about the light. I like the way it turned out.

"Oh the Water" and "Antiques Boxes" along with "Red Barn" were part of the Small Works Show at the Limelight Gallery during the 2012 holiday season.
   

   "Oh the Water", 10x8, oil on wood panel                          "Antique Boxes", 11x14, oil on wood panel

   

 "White Horse", "Cherry Blossom", & "Morning Thoughts" were included in

Anything Goes Exhibition at the Roswell Visual Arts Center Gallery, Fall 2012.
 
                    "White Horse", 15x30, oil on canvas  
     "Cherry Blossom Time", 30x30, oil on canvas
 
Solarplate Etchings 

 

   

                                  These are my original graphite drawings done on frosted mylar for a series of Solarplate etchings. My friend, Lila, a photographer whose family owns race horses (Palace Malice won the Belmont Stakes last week!) shared some photos she had taken. I cropped and then drew these using her photos as references. They made beautiful 7x5 etchings. I experimented with different colors of paper and ink and finally liked the ivory paper with black ink. Contact me if you have an interest in these etchings at leah@leahhenry.com.

 

Traditional etching is a printmaking process that dates back 500 years. Unfortunately, it is not a very environmentally friendly technique today, as it involves  acid used to etch the print onto the metal. In the early 1970s, Dan Welden, an artist who trained in Germany as a traditional lithographer and was looking for a "healthier" method, developed the technique of Solarplate prinitmaking. In his book, Welden explained how the process works: "You can create a piece of artwork on a transparent film; overlay it on a solarplate and expose the film and plate together in the sun. Effectively you're transferring a drawn image to the plate and the plate can be used to print either in relief or intaglio."

 

 
 "Saucer Magnolia", 10x10, oil on canvas
    Flowers Anyone?
 
This painting, "Saucer Magnolia",(right) was my donation to the High Arts Day silent auction at the High Museum of Art.
This unique fundraiser provides a full day of fun, fashion, art, and design, with all proceeds benefitting the High Museum.  
 
 
"Dance of the Dogwoods" (below) and "Cherry Blossom Time" were part of the the Atlanta Fine Arts League Botanical Exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
 
                          "Dance of the Dogwoods", 24x30, oil on canvas
 
A Few of my Latest Portraits

Trent, 36x24, oil on linen 
I painted of Trent's brother, Chance, several years ago.

Leila, 12x16, oil on linen
This was a graduation gift from Leila's parents

Ethan, 18x12, Charcoal & White Chalk on Gray Paper
Ethan is special little boy whose grandmother had this charcoal done for his parents.

As always, I would like to be your choice when you decide to have an oil or charcoal portrait commissioned. Remember...I paint pets too!


Click  here  to see more of my children's portraits. Click here to see more of my portrait drawings.


Please email me with any questions you may have. If you would like to keep updated with current news you can subscribe to my blog or visit my facebook page. If you know someone interested in having a portrait done, just forward this email along. Thank you!

                                                      

 

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I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, and I look forward to working with you in the future.  For more information and tips on commissioning a portrait or buying a painting, contact me at 404-295-6088 or Leah@LeahHenry.com


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Kind Regards, 
Leah   
 
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