Hey friends, I've started a new project! It's a series called 8x8x8 Faces. Each artwork is soft pastel, they are 8x8 inches square and take about 8 hours to complete.

If you'd like to participate in my new series, it's $100 per face and you provide the photo reference.

Need ideas?
Turn that senior photo into a work of art!
Send me a favorite photo of your child and I'll turn it into something to cherish!
Turn your boring business pic into something worth sharing.
Go here for 7 Tips: How to Choose a Reference Photo

If you'd like to keep up to date with this series of artwork, follow me on Facebook and Instagram @marypowdesigns

Your White Fragility
by Mary Pow
 
Are you fragile –
Will you break?
An ooey gooey egg.
Ooze into a hole,
 
And hide away.
 
Or is it possible –
Perhaps I’m wrong?
Your fist raised high
You find you’re strong.
 
And you uncurl.
 
Your shell is cracked,
You stand up tall.
That precious shell,
The pieces fall.
 
Thank God, they fall.
 
Released from shame,
You say his name
“George Floyd”
Again, “George Floyd”
 
And you move forward.
 
Look at you –
You’re in the street.
That shell is crushed
Beneath your feet.
 
And your eyes open.
 
Silence does harm,
You see. You warn,
“I won’t stay silent.”
You are reborn.

My Art for Social Distancing project - Portrait of a Quarantine - is finished! Thank you to all of you who participated in my quarantine project by submitting photos of your experience during lockdown due to the Coronavirus.

During the past three months I completed 12 paintings for this project, and in the process raised over $600. Half of these funds went to the Emergency Relief Fund for Artists and the other half went to support my studio. I am so grateful for your support during this time.

Things have been challenging, but ​I hope my project spread a little bit of joy. 
Thank you! 

I'm working on another painting about the line between imagination and reality. This is something that has always interested me, but more and more lately I'm understanding what it's all about for me. I've come to believe that, if we practice thinking differently, we will see that the solid walls that form barriers in our lives, are actually bars that we can slip between. 

As children, we're so connected to our imaginations. Magic is real, unicorns and fairies really do exist. We're filled with wonder about the world and excited because we know anything is possible. I'm reading "The Secret Garden" to my daughter and it's this idea, that there's something magical and secret lying in wait just behind the wall that I'm really interested in conveying in my art. 

As we grow up, we have to learn the rules. We're taught the structure of society, the way things need to be, and we learn our place within that structure. Rules are necessary, of course, but we forget that all things are possible. The rules forms walls around us that we think are real and solid. We live with those wall surrounding us for so long that we aren't able to see any other way. They are our reality.

It takes a new kind of thinking to snap us out of our adulthood, to give us back our imaginations and to realize the rules are just rules, not walls. In fact, if we remember how to truly see the possibilities, how to follow our hearts, we'll find a key. If we listen to ourselves, deep inside, we'll find the door. We can get through the wall, to a secret place that was there all along, just waiting to be discovered.

Here's what I'm reading and listening to as I work on my current artwork.

The Man with the Blue Guitar by Wallace Stevens
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens
Between the Bars by Elliot Smith
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Blackbird by The Beatles

11/4/2019

This piece is now finished! After struggling with two title ideas, I decided to go with "Between the Bars". The original is available, prints will be available at some point. Contact me for details.

The idea for "Possibilities" came to me while I was on a walk. I was taking a break from another painting of this same girl, getting some exercise and reflecting on things.

I know how important it is to get outside, to free my mind while moving my body. I quite often discover a new perspective on a problem while I'm on a walk or run. So, when a vision for this painting popped into my head while I was walking, I laughed out loud, because how funny - it seemed so, almost predictable, actually.
​

I thought it might be interesting to show the progression of creating this piece. This is my largest pastel painting to date and it was, to be honest, a little brain-straining. I really enjoyed creating it, but I had to step back and take a lot of breaks from it so I could keep my original vision clear through to the end.

​Material Honesty is a term I learned while studying architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle. They were very big on teaching us future architects how to be true to our building materials.

​Although I'm not designing buildings now, I do think about material honesty quite a bit while I work. I've come to love the idea of hinting at my process and using materials in the way that works best for them. 

If I'm using pastels atop a colored paper, then when I'm finished I feel that one should be able to determine that I used pastels and a colored paper for the piece.

Here are some ways that I accomplish the idea of material honesty with pastels, illustrated with details from my artwork "I Dare You".

Being expressive; not photo-realistic
For me, my art is about expressing a mood and getting at the heart of what inspired me in a subject in the first place. For the painting shown here, I had taken multiple photos of my model. In one of the photos, her eyes really drew me in. They seemed to be almost daring me, the viewer, to take her on. I absolutely love the strong, determined expression on her face. Of course, the gorgeous sunlit hair only added to my desire to paint the image.

I'm not interested in creating a photographic replica with my work. It's much more interesting to me to express myself and the media I'm using. For this piece, ​I used a specific set of colors and very expressive mark-making to get those original inspirations down on the paper. In the end, I do feel that I captured the ideas that prompted me to paint this image in the first place.

With each new piece I paint, I'm learning more and more about pastels and their specific abilities. I hope to continue to add to my list of ways to use them honestly.

Having a portrait painting commissioned is fun and exciting. The process shouldn't be stressful! If you'd like me to take photos for you, I offer a convenient photoshoot option for Standard Portrait Commissions. If you'd like to use your own photos, here are some helpful tips to make choosing a reference photo easier.

1. It is best to choose a photo where the subject looks most natural.

2. Look for a photo where the camera caught the subject unawares. A natural expression when the subject looks most like themselves is best.

3. Do not choose a photo where the subject is smiling "cheese!" for the camera.

4. Consider a photo where the subject is not facing the camera straight on. 

5. An angled face, an interesting expression, and good lighting are great.

6. You do not need a perfectly framed head shot. I will crop your photo and change the composition. ​

7. Most importantly, be sure the subject is clear and in focus. Zoom in on the face to be sure that it is not pixelated or blurry. 

​Let me know if you have any questions about how to choose a reference photo! I'm happy to help. Contact me here.

​Step three - and very importantly! - I've got to purchase a tent. It'll happen soon. I'm doing research.

I hope to see you at the Edina Fall into the Arts Festival this September!
Find more of my upcoming events here.

​I find that I'm drawn more and more to painting people. I've been inspired by a number of photographs taken by friends and family and have used their photos, with permission, to create artworks. However, I believe it's time for me find willing subjects (my own kids really don't like getting their photos taken!) so I can have a variety of my own photo references to work from.

If you, your kids, or someone you know is interested in being subjects for my art, please contact me via email at mary@marypow.com.

I put the final touches on Jonah's portrait today. So, now my Portrait Project "Addendum" has wrapped up and my Portrait Project is officially finished!

Twins Noah and Jonah are a coordinated set of paintings, meant to be framed separately, but displayed together. I focused on capturing their two different personalities, while also having the pair of paintings still match. They are twins, after all! 

I kept my mark-making loose and free with this pair. Preteen boys are endlessly growing and changing, and always active. I feel that this loose look showcases the idea that these paintings capture but a moment in time.

Thanks to all of my Portrait Project "Addendum" subjects!

The Portrait Project may be over, but ​I will continue with portraits. Contact me if you're interested in having a custom portrait painted.

If you'd like to take a look at all of the portraits together, see them in my portfolio.