New Rochelle OPEN STUDIOS & grand market - JUNE 29

Please come out and experience the excitement of this thriving Downtown Artist Community that I love so much!  Reverol & Co. Contemporary Art and Backstreet Galleries, Open Artist Studios, PAC House Theatre (hosting an open dance rehearsal),  R Patisserie Cafe.... grand market on the Library Green... You will LOVE The Curtain Shop on Main Street!  ....Great restaurants and so much more.   (Spend the day with the artists and catch a movie at New Roc City in the evening!  You won't be bored here!)

I will be in my shared-studio with my 'mates' at 81 Centre Avenue # 302 (third floor w/ elevator)....

Park in the Prospect Street Lot and walk up Centre Avenue towards Main Street.  Cross over near the SUBWAY; STUDIO ENTRANCE is just down on the Left... elevator is down the hall.  ...ART, WINE & COOKIES... and lots of 'HAPPY" here!!  Please Join ME on this Journey.  -Faith

Remember this guy?  Well, he's still looking at you.... re-gaining his wings; and taking me along for the flight! (Will YOU come, too???) ...and he has a new name. 

 "Free-Bird" by Faith Goldstein



NRAA Serviceman's Portrait Project

 The Public is invited to attend the reception on:

 Sunday, November 11, 2012 1-3pm 

 Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, Iona College Arts Center

715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, New York 10801

"Honor" by Faith Goldstein 11 x 14 acrylic with white Prismacolor pencil on black, Foam-board

As an artist member of the New Rochelle Art Association, it was my great pleasure to receive a photograph to paint the likeness of a New Rochelle resident and Veteran.  My 'jouney' to this finished 'likeness' has not been an easy one, as I am currently dealing with personal challenges... but after misplacing the reference photo, and struggling to 'see' the image in my mind, I quickly took great pride in being a part of this project.  I am grateful, for the opportunity, that this Journey helped me to leave some of my own 'darkness' behind. 

...the fact is, I had a white canvas on my easel for more than a week; every time I walked past it, I just couldn't 'see' the portrait in my mind.  I looked around to see what other surface I could paint on, before giving up on being a part of this project.  It seemed at this point that I was not going to get this 'done'.  Maybe it is times like these, when we feel like there is nothing to lose, (because it already seems lost), that our best, uninhibited efforts shine through.  All I know is, when I placed a sheet of black, foam-board on my easel, I started to see the painting emerge from the darkness.  It became a 'him'... living, breathing... sharing my space and asking me to share his story.  Most of his story lies in the eyes, and in the American flag, in the background.  I saw, and felt, the young man who went to war; I thought about the images he may have seen, that altered his view of the future.  I also connected to the man he has become, visible in the reference photo; he carries a strength that I admired while 'sharing this time' with him.  I chose to leave the details of war, closer to the black surface; they are left behind... it is the man himself and his love for his Country, and not the soldier, who emerges from the Darkness.

***Update***

I am happy to share that I had the opportunity to meet the serviceman who's portrait I painted. It was, such an Honor... truly!

Self Portrait

"Tough Girl" (20 x 20 acrylic) by Faith Goldstein fine art

(photograph)

It's been too many years to count, since I've attempted a self-portrait... in college, I used prismacolor pencils to draw several that I termed "auto-biographical"...which in my mind, left me with an 'out' if they didn't look exactly like me! With the unexpected, real-life detours that my life is taking now, I had the thought to try it again... maybe just to remind myself that I am still here. .........The photograph was taken on a very short trip with my daughter to a familiar place we've visited before. I never really settled in to 'vacation mode'... and hadn't yet put the requisite smile on my face for the photograph. We only were able to stay over for one night and hadn't even ventured into bathing suits and the beautiful pool. With just an hour before check-out time, I suggested that we go down and atleast put our feet in the little kids play pool. Both the sun and the water felt great. I wanted a few pictures to remember this brief escape into fun (and, someone else's life). ......When I saw the photo, I loved it... I look serious for all that is a part of my current journey.... but, I thought also.... "Tough Girl in the Kiddie Pool" would be a fitting title. So that was my working title, while painting the portrait, except, with the word "Detail-" in front of it, to mean that it is... I am... a part of something much bigger than what you see; in the painting and on this Journey.