May, 2006
volume 4 number 4

I've been awfully busy with work other than painting. Not the least of my time is spent preparing for our departure to Nova Scotia for the summer. That alone is enough to keep me from doing much in the way of painting. But there is more that I won't go into with you.

Still, I have been able to do some painting and I'll share the two canvases that I finished this month. Both are commissioned portraits. Both are of women who have passed away. Both were taken from snapshots that were furnished by their loved ones. Both involved interpretation from the images that I recieved, combining elements of several photographs. Both involved sessions in the studio at the end of the paintings where the loved ones and myself made changes together in order to fine tune the paintings to their satisfaction.

I like this process very much. I think it is interesting for both of us. For me, it provides additional information about the subject that I can't get from the snapshots. For the clients, I think it is interesting for them to see the subtlety that is involved in finishing a portrait.

"Mary MacKinnon" Oil on Canvas 38" x 28"

This painting now hangs at Northfield Mount Hermon School, in Northfield, Massachusetts. It is in the reception area of a dormitory named in her honor.

"Mary MacKinnon" (detail) Oil on Canvas 38" x 28"

"Mickie Duncan" Oil on Canvas 24" x 18"

And that sums up my activities at the easel this past month. Off we go to Nova Scotia. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

William H. Hays