Harlem Stroll

by Jean McGuire

“An interest in antique photos lured me into portrait studies after a 40-year break from my art. I love the faces, the expressions, and the attitudes of these, usually, long-forgotten people. The theme for all of these portraits is the story behind each picture. I love pondering what kind of life each of them had while I am working on their portrait. I am fascinated by using a limited palette to create colors. I was taught in grade school that an artist only needs to use red, yellow, blue, and white to create every color. A background in commercial printing embedded that belief even deeper. I like to breakdown my paintings into the layers of color you would see if you were color separating a four-color process photograph. I complete this breakdown in my mind, with no computer aids, and it still thrills me to see the depth evolve as the layers go down.”