Collection of Women Realists, San Antonio

By Allison Malafronte

There are a lot of superb contemporary realism portraits being made these days; this article by Allison Malafronte shines light on a gifted, insightful and compassionate individual. 

The emotive content and contemplative mood that resonate in the paintings of Texas artist Amy Werntz (b. 1979) are both palpable and poignant. Scenes of elderly women and men eating alone at restaurants, sitting quietly lost in thought or reflection, or holding something near and dear to them, inevitably tug at viewers’ heartstrings. These images may bring to mind memories of loved ones while reminding us of our own frailties and mortality.

In the painting “Lunch,” above, all of those emotions are on the table as we feel empathy for, and curiosity about, this aged woman with a distant, disconnected look in her eyes eating her fast-food lunch. 

Amy Werntz, “Temple II,” oil on paper, 16 x 10 in.

“I would like viewers to walk away feeling they have interacted with the person in the painting and brought their own experiences to that interaction,” the artist says. “Through their postures and expressions, as well as the uniqueness of every line on their faces, I strive to show the importance and value of this generation so often overlooked in our society by the lure of youth.”\

For Werntz — who is primarily self-taught in fine art after receiving her B.F.A. in interior design from the Art Institute of Dallas — it is not solely generational appreciation or reminiscence she is after. Her portraits of people in life’s last chapter also serve as portals into how they have lived and the emotions and experiences they carry.

Amy Werntz, untitled, oil on panel, 7.75 x 9.5

“When you are young, you live with the face you are given,” Werntz notes, “but when you are old, you live with the face you have made.” Several of her portraits show countenances worn from a life well-lived, while others wear hardened expressions that suggest years of struggle, strife, or unresolved angst.

Throughout her career, Werntz has explored time in some form or another. “Earlier works were drawn more from my concern about not living in the correct time,” the artist says. “I created pieces from found black-and-white photographs, translating them into bolder, more graphic paintings. Over time it grew into a strong desire to bring forgotten moments from the past back to life.

Amy Werntz, “Fair,” oil on panel, 16×16 in.

“In my current work, I aim to capture seemingly insignificant moments in people’s normal lives, removing the environment so as not to influence the viewer’s interaction with the subject. My hope is for people to look at the paintings and see something of themselves, a loved one, or just what they need to see. I feel each subject’s true story is not what’s most important; it is the story the viewer creates through his or her own personal history.”

Amy Werntz, “Quilt Expo IV,” oil on panel, 20 x 10 in.

Clearly Werntz is fascinated with exploring the concept of time and its effect on humans, and she admits to being particularly concerned about its passage. One benefit of this acute awareness is that it has led the artist to be more present and realize how precious even the simplest moments are. 

“Life passes so quickly,” she observes. “I like the idea of honoring the ordinary moments. We are so used to capturing and remembering the ‘important’ moments, but I’m interested in seemingly insignificant ones, moments that pass by almost unnoticed. Our lives are primarily made up of these forgotten, ordinary moments, so why not honor them instead?”

This article was originally published in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.

Portrait painting doesn’t have to be a mystery. Many teaching videos break down the process and show you how you can do it too. Browse through a few here.

Is Curiosity the Key to Creative Inspiration? What unlocks that Door?

By Contributing Author

It’s one of art’s most elusive of concepts – inspiration. Where does it come from? And is there anything we can do to make it come more often?

One of the most important mindsets that can help unlock the door to creativity, I believe, is being curious. Be curious about the world around you. Ask questions, explore new topics, and stay open to learning.

Curiosity

If we look at some of history’s greatest creators, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo for example, we find they showed an insatiable curiosity to explore the natural world and use what they learnt in their art work.

Children already posses this quality by the truck load. If you’ve ever had anything to do with two year olds, you know they are constantly trying to figure out how the world works. They pull things apart and eat raw onions just because they can, not to mention many other things. 

When my middle daughter was around three, we were driving along one day and all these black round things began falling into her lap. She had stuffed a whole bunch of privet berries up her nose – unbeknown to us – go figure.

Curiosity can take many forms – although I’m certainly not an advocate of stuffing random things up one’s nose LOL!

More relevant avenues might be used through the use of intelligent questioning, such as:

• What would happen if ………………………
• Why is that thing in shadow now?
• What is causing those colors to vibrate in that way and can I replicate that in my own work?
• What is next?
• Why does this subject appeal to me?

and so on ……

When was the last time you experimented with something because you were curious to see what would happen.? Art can be a great way to relearn how to explore possibilities. Tried and true has its place, but as creatives we also need to push the boundaries and this is challenging because we are then venturing into unsafe territory. All those ugly questions raise their ugly heads –

• What if it fails
• What if its not good enough – and by extension – I’m not good enough
• Aren’t there already experts in this field – I’m too old, I’ll never catch up
• I mean really – who am I to think I can go down this path?

And so on – ad nauseum.

For me, this brings to mind a quote from Georgia O’Keeffe, who said, “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”

Sometimes, limitations can fuel creativity. Embrace constraints and use them as a challenge to come up with innovative solutions.

What are you not doing, exploring , being curious about because you are afraid of, terrified of doing it and what might or might not happen!

Do it now!