When one meets Gordon Wetmore,  its not forgotten or taken for granted. Charming and well-spoken, Gordon could glide through the most difficult of portrait sittings.  Armed with his sensitive,  gentle nature and easy to laugh personality, clients LOVED him no matter what was going on.  Gordon thrived with these skills if he knew it or not!  Portrait commissions were handled leaving the client, subject and associate, if there was one,  happy at the end of the day.  Is it a coincidence that one of Gordon’s commissioned portraits was of author, Norman Vincent Peale?  People liked Gordon and Gordon liked people, and for a portrait artist, that’s a winning combination.

Commissioned portraiture is a small industry which makes us a community as well.  The industry collectively grieves the loss of one of the longest represented artists we’ve ever known.  Gordon was one of the first popular portrait artists, available to travel to a client’s home for a commission.  Since 1980, his pastel and oil portraits have been loved and admired.  They hang in universities, hospitals and government offices as well as in private homes throughout the world.  We feel privileged to have known him, and he will always be remembered and appreciated here at Portraits South.

The festival this year includes many activities within each of these categories, The Art Market (filled with every kind of artwork you can imagine), Music in the Park (Sat & Sun only), Kidsplosure (association with Marbles Kids Museum) and finally the amazing Amacoco in City Park.

Amococo is a large scale, inflatable sculpture constructed of translucent vinyl and made up of labyrinthine tunnels and inspiring spacious domes.

A sensual world of liquid light and color, it is a multi-sensory space that welcomes, inspires and affects everyone who enters. Admission to the tunnel is $5.00 and it is wheelchair accessible.

What is Artsplosure?  Their mission is to produce high quality annual festivals that celebrate excellence in the performing and visual arts; to promote and bring recognition to national, regional, and local artists; and to bring artists and the larger community together to improve the quality of life and cultural environment.

For more information, see the website:  http://www.artsplosure.org/artsplosure2011

The arts are enriched with the stuff kids need to succeed. Just like kids need to have good nutrition on a daily basis, kids need to have their daily serving of the arts. Studies have shown that involvement in the arts helps kids increase test scores and promotes academic achievement. Kids who are involved in the arts are:

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
• 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance
• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem

Chances are your kids are not getting enough art — in or out of school.

Ten Eleven Easy Ways Parents Can Get More Art in Their Kids’ Lives

1. Enjoy the arts together. Sing, play music, read a book, dance, or draw with your child at home.
2. Encourage your child to participate in the arts and celebrate their participation in or out of school.
3. Explore your community’s library and read “the classics” together—from Mother Goose to Walt Whitman.
4. Read your local newspaper to find out about attending local arts events like museum exhibits, local plays, festivals, or outdoor concerts.
5. Tell your child’s teacher, principal, and school leadership that the arts are vital to your child’s success and an important part of a quality education. Find out if your school has sufficient resources for arts education, including qualified teachers and materials. If not, offer to help.
6. Contact your local arts organizations to inquire about the arts education programs they offer either during school hours or after school. Volunteer to donate time, supplies, or help with their advocacy efforts and connect these services to your child’s school.
7. Attend a school board or PTA meeting and voice your support for the arts to show them you care and make sure the arts are adequately funded as part of the core curriculum in the school budget.
8. Explore your child’s dream to sing, to dance, to draw, to act—and encourage them to become the best they can be through the arts.
9. Be an arts supporter!  Contact your elected officials—lawmakers and school board members—to ask them for more arts education funding from the local, state, and federal levels.
10. Sign up to become an activist on the Americans for the Arts website, just a click away! http://www.artsusa.org/ Through their e-activist list, you will get news updates and alerts about arts education. Visit the E-Advocacy Center.

11. Have a portrait done of your child or a family member. Have your kids help you research the history and importance of portraiture.

Communities Understand That Arts Education…

• builds a school climate of high expectation, discipline, and academic rigor that attracts businesses relocating to your community
• strengthens student problem-solving and critical thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success
• helps students develop a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting—skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond
• can help troubled youth, providing an alternative to destructive behavior and another way for students to approach learning
• provides another opportunity for parental, community, and business involvement with schools, including arts and humanities organizations
• helps all students develop more appreciation and understanding of the world around them
• helps students develop a positive work ethic and pride in a job well done

(Business Circle for Arts Education in Oklahoma, “Arts at the Core of Learning 1999 Initiative”)

How do artists AND galleries distinguish themselves among all that’s available online? For this, bricks-and-mortar galleries will remain an important and relevant part of the marketing mix for artists.  They help collectors, buyers, agents and people looking to commission a portrait with the sifting process. In addition, galleries provide an experience for patrons.

The art business is a very personal one.  The portrait business is even more personal, and it is one that NEEDS one-on-one interaction.  Our clients become personal friends as well as repeat buyers.  An honest, mutually rewarding  relationship is a mixture of communications.  Talking in person, phone calls, emails…etc. When looking at art, especially if you are looking to commission an artist, there is no substitute for seeing the work with your own eyes IN PERSON.

We believe artists and galleries can and will continue to work together in mutually profitable relationships if we accept that the internet has changed everything, and we too must change. Change is good!

To mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the National Portrait Gallery will stage an innovative touring exhibition bringing together 60 of the most remarkable and resonant images of Elizabeth II spanning the 60 years of her reign – some on public display for the first time. The Queen: Art and Image will tour to British venues before being shown in London, opening in Edinburgh in June, Belfast in October and Cardiff and London in 2012.

From Beaton and Leibovitz to Annigoni and Warhol, The Queen: Art and Image will be the most wide-ranging exhibition of images in different media devoted to a single royal sitter. Formal painted portraits, official photographs, media pictures, and powerful responses by contemporary artists will be shown in an exhibition which explores both traditional representations and works which extend the visual language of royal portraiture.

Thank you for visiting our NEW News and Blog page!

Those of you that are not familiar with Portraits South may want to read the brief description in the paragraphs below.  However, if you are “in the know” and can relate to commissioned portraiture, please stay tuned!

We will have interesting and informative posts about fine art portraiture in today’s world. We will be posting relevant information for artists, sales associates, clients, prospects or  anyone with an interest in fine art portraiture.  See you again soon!

Portraits South, founded in 1977, is the largest full-service company representing portrait artists available for commission in the United States. With its home office located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Portraits South markets the talents of nearly 100 artists of national and international distinction. Our artists work in a variety of media including oil, pastel, watercolor, charcoal, as well as bronze sculpture.

Portraits South specializes in helping clients select the artist who can best capture the subject, in a way that suits your style and budget. Our services are provided to you at no additional cost over what you would pay to work directly with an artist.