The King Wins the Day!

Ok, that headline sounds really pretentious! I just couldn’t resist the “King” reference. Anyway, for whoever’s been following along, there’s been a recent exhibition of  paintings by members of the East Aurora Art Society, to which I belong, at the public library in East Aurora, NY. We’ve had shows and competitions there before, but this is the first one where judging was open to the public.

Whoever thought of that idea was definitely wearing her creative thinking cap! What a neat idea. Art shows are so commonly judged by other artists or arts professionals that it’s refreshing to see this new approach taken. Over about, oh, I guess it was around two months, visitors had the chance to come in and write down their choices for first, second and third place.

After the show came down, the votes were tallied up, and I was so appreciative to hear that Father of the Pride took first place! Thank you to everyone who voted and participated in this fun event. There were some wonderful works in the show, beautiful really. From what I heard, every single work in the exhibition received at least one vote.

The lion painting has been exhibited in various other solo and group shows, and has tended to receive very favorable attention. For artists, it’s pleasant to know that viewers looking at their work have strong reactions to what they see… when those reactions are positive that is! Believe me, many of us have gotten to receive strong reactions in other ways too during our careers!

Father of the Pride was painted with acrylics using transparent layering combined with impressionistic techniques. The areas of paint are quite loose throughout the piece, even in the focal point which is, of course, daddy lion’s face. The loose brushstrokes combine into areas of facial anatomy to create his expression and the impression of furry detail. Similar looseness was employed in creating his mane.

As the viewer’s eye moves to the surrounding landscape, the treatment becomes less defined, and the lioness in the background (the “bride of the pride”), while convincingly structured, is handled extremely gesturally so as not to compete for attention with the more detailed male lion up front – the father of the pride indeed!

Thanks for checking him out, and please feel free to contact me if you have questions about this piece or other artwork you see here on the website.