LOST ART PORTRAITURE AN INTRIGUING ALTERNATIVE TO PHOTOGRAPHS AS

With very few exceptions, the people and situations which define our lives change continuously as time marches forward. Children grow up, loved ones pass on, jobs are acquired and lost -- and dark hair turns silver.

It's not surprising, then, that the family photograph has in this century become a virtually indispensable part of the American living room. Though somewhat expensive, many people feel the sentimental benefits reaped from a professional photograph are well worth the investment.

But the nearly universal urge to record one's likeness for posterity is a phenomenon much older than the camera. Though income has always been a limiting factor in the process, there was a time when nearly everyone who could afford it commissioned an artist to paint their portrait (or that of their family) once or twice during their lives. For centuries, portraiture was essentially the only way for individuals to ensure the unique characteristics of their appearance would not be forgotten after they were gone. In some cases, such paintings successfully served their purpose and are now treasured family heirlooms accorded places of honor in the homes of contemporary descendents. Unfortunately, modern portrait painting has become something of a lost art, viewed by some as an indulgence reserved for people of great importance. Each U.S. president still has a portrait done before leaving office, and many corporate CEOs have been known to commission a painting of themselves, often for the purpose of distributing prints to employees. But for most people, having a family or personal painting done is fairly uncommon, not necessarily because its unaffordable, but because it's not a possibility people generally consider. Those who do, however, usually find the experience rewarding and are left with an end product which expresses a very human interpretation of their personality, as well as their image, in ways that no camera ever could. Charlene Herrick, a 29-year-old nurse at Holy Family Hospital, recently asked artist Susan Rohrback to create a portrait of her 3-year-old daughter Shaelyn. Though it's difficult for a child that age (or an adult for that matter) to sit motionless for any length of time, Herrick is happy she did it and thrilled with the soft-toned, color image now hanging on her wall. Steve and Ann Apperson of Spokane also recently decided that a painting of their three children was a worthwhile investment. They wanted a painting of their kids to enjoy in the here and now, but they also wanted to perpetuate Ann's family tradition of handing down paintings through the ages. In the Apperson home sits a painting commissioned during the 1740s in the colonial American South of a mother and her two children, direct ancestors six generations removed. Apperson said other family members around the country are guardians of additional historical family paintings. "There's just something more permanent and generational about a painting," she said. For many artists, the intrinsically intimate process of attempting to capture another human being on canvas is a rewarding and therapeutic experience. Deanna Lucas, who has painted portraits exclusively for nearly 21 years and now teaches watercolor classes with the Community Colleges of Spokane's Seniors Program, said her life's passion has been capturing memories. "I do it from my heart, I do it from my eyes and my soul," she said. "I feel deeply honored to have come to this place in my life where I'm called upon to do portraits of the objects of people's love." Though most of those "objects" have been human, she is occasionally asked to immortalize beloved dogs, cats and horses. Doug Anderson of Spokane said his 9-year-old daughter's portrait was done last Christmas as a gift from her grandparents. The family made a small vacation out of going to Montana (where Jessica Zinski, the artist involved, lives and works). Anderson said it was worth the effort and hopes to have paintings of his two sons done as well. "It was neat to go through the process. Our daughter still talks about it," he said. Earl Lumpkins of Spokane, who had his entire family painted in lieu of a standard photograph, agrees. "I think paintings are far superior over the course of time," he said. Though its popularity has dwindled significantly since the golden age of the portrait, many local artists still find likeness painting to be a reasonable way to boost their income: The paintings can fetch between $500 and $5,000 or more. Few, however, bill themselves exclusively as portrait painters. Local artist Stan Miller, who does anywhere from 10 to 40 portraits each year, said memorializing a loved one on canvas is a common way for family members to help each other deal with a loss. "They can't bring the deceased person into the studio, but they can bring a photograph and make it look more elegant by turning it into a painting," he said. Dell Gish, who has traveled much of the world and painted interesting individuals from Russia to Beliz, said it can sometimes be difficult for artist and subject to agree on how the painting should look. Tastes differ, but Gish, whose work is on display at the Douglass Gallery, 120 N. Wall, said the best portraits "should be art first and a likeness second." In fact, John Singer Sargent, one of the most famous and sought-after portraiture artists to ever live, expressed the timeless frustration of trying to satisfy a wide range of tastes when he quipped, "A portrait is a painting with a little something wrong with the mouth." But Dana Salsbury, who painted the Apperson children, said the creative challenge offered by portrait painting is exactly what drew him to the profession. "Art is all about people," he said. "Art is for other people. The artists who are truly successful are those who can step outside of themselves in what they do." Salsbury, 25, is among the pioneers of a relatively new technique which utilizes computer imaging to "dissect" a photo before painting or fusing it with other photographs. The photo is scanned, then broken down into a series of images which depict its basic lines, shapes and colors. In this way, the artist can "filter out" less vital aspects of a picture and concentrate on re-creating it with a personal touch. Rohrback, who teaches portrait classes at the Corbin Art Center, 507 W. Seventh, and spent nearly 14 years doing eight to 10 portraits per day on the road with an art show, said one of the many advantages of having a painting made is that, unlike the always-truthful lens of a camera, artists have the ability to paint something other than stark reality. Hair can be added, blemishes can be ignored, expressions can be softened and years can even be trimmed to suit the commissioner's tastes. This is especially helpful when the portrait's purpose is to memorialize an aged loved one. People often want to remember the person as they were when vitality was still with them, rather than as they appeared during the difficult period of illness which often precedes death. For these reasons and more, die-hard portrait artists like Coeur d'Alene's Loretta Jenkins say they aren't worried about their art form ever dying out completely. "It will always be popular as long as people want originality," she said.

Copyright 1998 Cowles Publishing Company
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