2013 Art of the Portrait: Day 3, The Final Day

Rainy days can be warm, or they can be cold.  Comforting and sweet, or dark and melancholy.  They elicit in us a dichotomic response, in which we sometimes find ourselves both happy and sad simultaneously.  It was perhaps then fitting that on Sunday morning, we woke to gray skies and rain showers, and that the weather outside reflected the mood that often descends upon the conference on the final day.

It is at once difficult to leave the Art of the Portrait Conference behind, and yet, having cached days of inspiration within us, we want nothing more than to be home in our studios.

The last day of the conference always features an abbreviated schedule, usually with a lecture first, followed by a demonstration.  And at noon, with the briefest of good-byes, the Chairman of the Portrait Society of America closes the conference, trying to give everyone as much time as possible to grab their luggage, bid their farewells, and rush off to their afternoon destinations - from long journeys home, to bus trips to local museums (and that one last hurrah while resurfacing from the weekend's total immersion in art).  In this way, the 15th Annual Art of the Portrait Conference ended in much the same way as had those that came before it.

Sunday began at 8:30 AM with a one-hour lecture in the Grand Ballroom by artist Sam Adoquei.  His presentation, Finding Inspiration for Your Artistic Journey, revealed why this Ghana-born artist is such a popular teacher and author;  his positivity left the audience feeling encouraged to step out, and not to be afraid to leave themselves on their canvases.

In the final presentation of the day, and of the conference, it was artist Quang Ho's turn to thrill the audience with a demonstration he called Finding the Visual Context.  In what was likely the most well-attended Sunday demonstration I have ever seen, the Vietnamese-born, Coloradan artist shared his intellectual and philosophical insights on the art of painting.  Along the way to creating his portrait, Quang shared his belief that each brushstroke he puts down "is a story," and he showed how each little section of one of his paintings formed an abstract, internal artwork which was important to the whole of the painting.  He also explained the relationship between light and shadow, and how important the latter was for telling the story of the environment in which a work was painted.  When his two hours were over, it was hard to tell who was less willing to leave the room - the artist, or the audience.  

At noon, when Chairman Edward Jonas approached the podium, we all knew it was a sign that the curtain had closed on this show, but we also knew that it would open again, on a new day and a new show.  And believe it or not, the next conference promises to have a schedule even more packed than this one!

The Annual Art of the Portrait Conference returns to Reston, Virginia next year.  For updates on conference dates, and to pre-register, please visit the Portrait Society of America's website.  See you there!