Glad to be accepted into the art exhibit, In Honor of Women, art inspired by women, at Stella’s Art Gallery, 38033 Euclid Avenue, Willoughby, OH 44094, (440) 266-9111, StellasArtGallery.com. Juror: Cathee Thomas. Reception and awards, March 10, 2023, 7-9pm, exhibit runs through April 1.
My painting, Ode to Suze, acrylic on canvas, wood, 12 x 12 inches, honors Suze Orman, successful author and personal finance expert.
I started listening to Suze Orman’s Women and Money podcast at the start of the pandemic on my walks, which has empowered me to learn and understand more about finances, and to gain confidence in my abilities to make my own financial choices. She has helped countless individuals in this area.
Ode to Suze, portrait of Suze Orman by Janet Dodrill, acrylic on canvas, wood, 12″ x 12″
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Portrait of Isla who posed at The Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists on February 17, 2023. The group meets regularly on Friday nights. To see more of my Friday night portraits go to LiteraryCafeArtists.com/janet-dodrill.
Portrait of Isla by Janet Dodrill, gouache and Ebony pencil on Strathmore paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″
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After participating in several online drawing groups with other artists where we sketch from paid life models, it has also become popular for artists to sketch other artists in organized sessions. Many are called Draw Eachother, where people pose for 15 minutes for a portrait.
I participated in one on November 29, 2022 called, Draw Me Draw You, with the Scottish Borders Life Drawing Club (@scottishborderslifedrawingclub on Instagram), with proceeds going to Unicef to help children in the Ukraine. And, I was one of eight artists chosen to pose for a portrait, aside from drawing too. It was a lot of fun posing and seeing the results. Additionally, I got to meet and draw several other artists.
Here are a few of the fabulous portraits drawn of me by other talented artists from the fundraiser, showing a variety of styles and artistic approaches.
Portrait by artist, Baba Kre.
Portrait by artist, Yuji Sakuma.
Portrait by artist, Margo Volterra.
Portrait by artist, Lena Meyer.
Portrait by artist, Jeremy Kuhn.
Portrait by artist, Faye Stephens.
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I am participating in a collective art show, The Personal Work of the Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists at Beachwood Art Gallery. Two of my pieces are included, both portraits, Nikki, oil on canvas, 12″x16″, and Susan, oil on canvas, 12″x16″.
The show features fantastic artwork by local area and distant artists who sketch together on Friday nights with The Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists. It is quite an honor to be involved with these artists while trying to improve my portrait drawing skills.
October 13 – November 12, 2022 The Personal Work of the Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists Reception, Sunday, October 23, 2022, 1:00 – 2:30 P.M. Beachwood Art Gallery Beachwood Community Center 25325 Fairmount Boulevard Beachwood, OH 44122 Hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
A special thanks to Tim Herron of the group, and Susan Merdler of the Beachwood Art Gallery, for organizing the exhibit.
Susan, oil on canvas, 12×16, by Janet Dodrill
Nikki, oil on canvas, 12×16, by Janet Dodrill
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About three years ago I joined a Friday night portrait sketch group, The Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists. The website is at www.literarycafeartists.com and the weekly model sessions can be found at the blog link. The group (formerly known as The Pretentious Tremont Artists of the Literary Cafe) was founded in 2005 by Tim Herron and Brian Pierce, who wanted to practice portrait drawing and drew bar patrons late every Friday night at the Literary Cafe in Tremont, Ohio. Over that past 15 years the group has grown. It is unique that it pays the model for their time with the finished portraits! Though the original meeting location has changed, the group has still been open to all for both drawing and public viewing while the artists work.
Since March 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic and stay at home orders, the group was able to move to an online streaming platform, thanks to the help of seasoned arts interviewer, Roger Miller, of Tues@7 on Facebook and YouTube, managing production for the first 12 weeks. This has enabled even a broader reach of artists to join in the weekly drawing session, beyond the Cleveland area. Artists then send in their portraits to give the model.
Around April of 2020, Tim Herron was interested in drawing portraits of doctors and nurses as a thank you for their service on the frontlines of battling the Coronavirus. Several artists around the world were making the news at the time involved in similar projects. Through his network of models, artists, and friends and their connections, he started receiving photographs and selfies of healthcare workers from different locations and hospital systems, including MetroHealth Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic. He opened up the project for any artists in his Friday group that wanted to participate.
So far (as of March 23, 2021), 18 artists have participated in this “Doctors and Nurses in Covid 19 Times” project, creating 155 original portraits, which are showcased on the group’s website at www.literarycafeartists.com/doctors-and-nurses-in-covid-19-times.
I personally have produced 28 portraits for the project to-date, and will continue to do more. It’s great practice and I enjoy being part of a group of artists working together. I have an individual webpage on the group’s site at www.literarycafeartists.com/janet-dodrill, where they can be viewed under my general portrait gallery. We are following along with the idea of giving the portraits to the models, in this case the doctors and nurses.
MetroHealth Hospital in Cleveland currently has an exhibit in their lobby, since last fall, of their portraits, which is visible to the public when they visit for their Covid vaccines. Linda Jackson at MetroHealth organized photos and exhibit. They also produced a video on the project, Local Artists Honor Frontline Health Care Workers.
As a result of posting some of my doctors and nurses portraits on instagram (@janetdodrill), I have been asked to tag these works for a curated North American exhibit using hashtag #portraitsforcovidheroes for inclusion in the project by Jules Smith @jules_smith_artist and @portratisforcovidheroes.
Thank you, to all healthcare workers helping to battle this virus in this pandemic and save lives. You are true heroes.
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Snippets of portraits of doctors and nurses on the frontlines by Janet Dodrill.
Snippets of portraits of doctors and nurses on the frontlines by Janet Dodrill.
Portraits of Covid frontline healthcare workers exhibit at MetroHealth Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio (photo by Roger Miller).
Portraits of Covid frontline healthcare workers exhibit at MetroHealth Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio (photo by Roger Miller).
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