Martha Berryhill Passes Away At 110

Three years ago I had the honor and privilege to paint a portrait of then 107 year old Creek Indian Martha Berryhill. At the time I was preparing for a solo exhibition here in Okmulgee. The name of the show was "Our Town, Our Land, Our People" it included local landscapes, a doctor, a judge, a state representative, lots of familiar people and places that make this town uniquely ours. Can you imagine everything this woman experienced in her life, the wars, the depression, TV, radio, the births and deaths of those she loved. I was so moved when I met her, I studied the lines on hers face the age in her hands and the soulfulness of her eyes. I went to her home and photographed her outside wearing her traditional dress. While I was taking pictures she began to pray out loud, while I couldn't understand much she was saying I couldn't help but feel like this is one of those moments in life where you never want to forget, and I won't. I donated this portrait to the Creek Council House Museum.

100 Stroke challenge

I set a challenge for myself today, paint a portrait in 100 strokes. Why would I want to do this? Well, I admit I heard someone recently talking about this and I got really excited by it. To say as much as possible in as few strokes as possible. I think this is the goal of most painters. After doing this I realized many things. #1, most of my portraits have a whole lot more than 100 strokes, and #2 in order to be economical, I needed to connect shapes in one stroke. To do this, a lot of paint needed to be loaded on my brush so I would be able to complete the stroke. I created some neat effects by not totally mixing my paint on the palette and having different colors show up by twisting the brush on the surface, especially in the hair. Also, you would think that it would be pretty quick just painting 100 strokes, but no, every stroke had to count, every stroke needed to be thought out carefully and placed precisely. 3 hours and I have to admit it took me 112 strokes. Yeah, I cheated, I couldn't help myself. I was having some chin issues. No, It's not ready for the framer, this was just an exercise, I was being a student today. It's not the best thing I've ever done, but I am not embarrassed to show you my experiment. Take this challenge yourself, it doesn't need to be a portrait, try a landscape or stll life, be a student, and let me know how you did.