Grace Pennington

Meet Mary Gallagher Stout.  A wife, a mother of two, an actively growing artist at the Lorton Arts Foundation, and  a good mentor and friend, graciously posed for a new project that John Robert and I have been planning and collaborating over.  The collection is called Achromatic Expressions.  Achromatic means “free from color,” hence, the drawings and photographs of the collection are composed of strictly black and white.  And the series of work will focus on the expressive individuality of people. This is the first of the drawings and contribution to the series.  While Mary is a woman of many hats and roles, she also has a very animated and youthful personality that is reflected in this giant graphite painting of 40″ by 30″ .

Road trips.  Done a few of those these past few months.  During our honeymoon we traveled from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Grand Canyon and Sedona Arizona.  Two weeks ago John and I drove out to Missouri to photograph our friend’s wedding.   Aside from being contained in a speeding box of death for several hours on end till the next rest stop, traveling in general has always been my biggest time for inspiration and thought.  I noticed the pattern after the last trip left me with more ideas for my portfolio projects.  This is exciting for me for one reason.  I’m learning how my creative juices start to flow.  Not when I’m  painting.  Not when I’m lying in bed at night.  Not when I’m taking a walk or relaxing by the pool, but when I’m driving (or riding in a car).

Through my ideas, I decided that my focus is going to be my portfolio.  How is that new?  Well, I’m stepping away from the commission side of things and my focus is not going to be on  making money, but making excellent art.   I think when staying within the “rules” of portraiture and “representational art,” I’m pretty good.  But what about making something excellent?  Having a body of work that is completely created from my little brain and hands versus the customer’s wishes and wants is kind of bazaar for me.  It hasn’t been apart of the creative routine as much.  At that point you’re not accountable to clients, but to yourself.

Seems like an exciting trip.  Do I have what it takes to last the journey?