Current Portrait
Reviews
Artist: Jamie Lee McMahan
Cordova, Tennessee.
Subject: Dr. Shirley Raines
President, The University of Memphis
Oil on canvas, 40 x 32 inches.
his remarkable painting is a tour de force of technical skill.
The pose is a conventional portrait "three-quarter," but
the artist has transformed the subject matter by his refreshing
and dashing brush handling. The several points at which the artist
merges the contours of the figure with the tones of the background
add excitement and movement. The sparkling background, with its
playful and imaginative brushwork, lifts the portrait out of the
realm of the ordinary into a fresh, contemporary liveliness which
is captivating.
With all the vigor of the brushwork, the artist gives us a well-drawn
and convincing head and hands, modeled with careful and authentic
color, but with a fresh modernity.
Don't fail to note that the two strong blues of the robe are perfectly
complimented by the touches of orange and red. The master touch
of the painting is the cool reflected light in the shadows of the
face. J.H.S.
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