PAINTINGS BY THERESA: About Lana

Friday, July 11, 2008

About Lana

Dr. Lana Susskind-Wilder is a doctor of Neuropsychology and practices here in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona. Among her accomplishments: she is a graduate of Standford University, is a Black belt in Shotokan Karate, and is the mother of six children. I'm not kidding, that tiny little woman has born six children!

I am lucky enough to count her among my very best friends. The pose I chose for Lana tries to capture something basic about Lana that her titles do not. She is a very caring and compassionate person, always reaching out to people with a very warm personality. She is small and delicate physically. She has a strength at her core that prompted me to use a strong brilliant color to give the feeling that the color is emanating from her. I juxtaposed the strong reds next to the cool delicate color of her flesh to give a feeling of sensuality and strength.

I usually finish the facial features first but in this painting I felt the arms and hands had to be just right first to keep the mood going in the right direction. I will concentrate on the facial features more in the final portion of this painting.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Goodness Theresa, I cannot tell you how honored I am to be a subject of your amazing work (and your blog!) I read about myself, and have to say that I am quite flattered by your rosy view of me (hee hee). Your artistry is wonderful (I only wish I looked that good in real life! Like Dona, Toni and you do). Cant wait to see the finished product.; July 17, 2008 at 5:57 PM
Theresa Mutz said...: Lana you are that beautiful. I paint what the imperfect lense of the Camera does not show. I try also to imbue each of my portraits with the inner beauty of an individuals personality which we all know shows physically in person but is very difficult to capture with a camera.; July 19, 2008 at 9:25 PM

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Food for Thought 5

The Japanese lace paper that is beginning to emerge is a by-product of how we think of trees and leaves. So in the case of this painting I have used it as a screen or a filter by which we see nature. I keep the basic beginning divisions of that area of the canvas. but I abandon the flat "Mondrian" abstraction of the house's interior. I also am drawn to the textures and patterns I see coming out of China's Art community and the lace paper is an excuse to pay tribute to that genre (even though the paper is Japanese in origin). It is an image that I have used over many years and have made part of own personal symbolism.

Food for Thought 7

I added the element of a Shinto gate to further my message of our connection with nature. In one of the origin myths of Shintoism the goddess of the sun became annoyed with her trickster brother and hid in a cave, rolling a big rock in front of the cave and leaving the world dark. Fearful that the world would stay dark the people built a huge bird perch (the Torri) to attract many birds. When the goddess peeked out to hear the birds sing a sumo wrestler pushed the boulder from the cave and the goddess came out and the world was bright again. In the Shinto myth the gate as a bird perch fits in with the mocking birds in my painting, both with the physical connection and the metaphoric. On a personal level, it also reminds me of my grandfather who was an accomplished amateur gardener and bee-keeper.