by Tiiu Lukk
A few years ago, when visiting the Art Collection in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, I came upon the 1650 Velazquez portrait of Pope Innocent X, a portrait so real I felt the subject of the portrait was still alive and breathing in that room. On my return to the states, a family friend and portrait painter par excellence, Arthur Egeli, whose own work had been inspired by his exposure to Velazquez at the Prado, suggested to my husband and me that our two sons were just the right age to have their portraits painted. Arthur told us "that certain stages of a young person's life are so special and memorable for parents that a portrait, much more than a photograph, can really zero in on what a child was like at that age." If it was good enough for a Pope, I figured it was good enough for my children. Velazquez, of course, is no longer available, so we happily enlisted Arthur to do the honors, in his distinctive impressionistic style that suits our more modern tastes. Some months later, when Arthur invited me to view the almost-finished portrait of my older son, I went to his studio/home with some trepidation. What if I didn't like it? No need to worry-I was captivated by Arthur's ability to capture that moment in time when our son, then 13 years old, stood poised between adolescence and manhood. It was not just our son's features he captured, but his character, his hope for the future, his very spirit. I was doubly pleased when he delivered our younger son's portrait a few months later, revealing the innocence and openness of our then 10-year-old in his transition from childhood to adolescence. Arthur managed to put on canvas what every parent would like to do, which is keep a precious image of their child alive forever. "The days are long and the years are short," a wise woman once told me. Parents are well aware of how quickly children grow up, and how soon we will be left with just images and memories, while they go off to live their own lives. Arthur began the portrait painting process with photo sessions with our two sons. He uses special portrait-quality film, and shoots as many as 150 photos of a subject. Arthur practices the discipline of waiting for "the right expression," one that is normal and typical, which means not necessarily smiling. "I want to show the subject as people close to him or her know the subject. I also want to be true to my art. The most successful portraits are a little universal. When you see a young person in a picture, their image should remind you of all young people of that age or of that type." Once he has captured that expression, he blows up the photo and paints the portrait using the photo as a reference, precluding the need for children to sit for long periods of time to have their portraits done. Arthur feels that children generally look better in the outdoors. We chose Matador Beach north of Malibu, California for the setting for our sons' portraits, because we felt that reflected their love of the outdoors and the ocean, as well as their sunny, playful spirits. Their attire was a compromise-we agreed on comfortable, casual, but not trendy clothes, so as not to date the portraits. During these photo sessions, Arthur captured the expressions he later translated into paint on canvas. "Our older son is trying to project his qualities of a young, successful, handsome young boy/man, despite some awkwardness; our younger son is more open, not so inclined to hide his feelings, on the cusp of becoming an adolescent," reflected Arthur once the portraits were completed. Arthur is inspired by "all the likely candidates," including Rembrandt, John Singer Sargent, and of course Velazquez. He started sketching portraits when was 15 years old in Cape Cod, and came by his calling naturally-his grandfather, Bjorn Egeli, painted official portraits of Nixon and Eisenhower, and his father, Cedric Egeli, and mother, Joanette Egeli, two sisters, two uncles and two aunts are all portrait painters. In addition to portraits, Arthur does Plein Air (open air) painting of landscapes. He enjoys the social aspect of portrait painting, particularly learning about "why people are the way they are." Arthur says the most moving reaction to one of the portraits he painted came from a mother who started crying from happiness when she saw her child's portrait. "She was really touched that I captured their child the way they saw their child," recalls Arthur. When Arthur showed the portrait of his two sons to another client, an entertainment executive, the man stood speechless for 45 minutes, staring at the painting-when he finally spoke, he told Arthur how very, very pleased he was with his work. Our older son said "I was overjoyed that he created such an accurate representation of me." Our younger son says "It was just what I wanted." The portraits of our sons now grace the wall behind our grand piano, and every time I look at them I am grateful to my husband for the priceless gift he gave me when he commissioned the portraits, and especially grateful to Arthur, for his gift of capturing the joy of my children forever. From my perspective, it is the greatest family treasure we will be able to hand down to them in the future. Arthur Egeli is represented by Tirage Art Gallery (TirageArt.com), Contact Kevin Casey or Karent Hackett, One West California Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91105, phone (626) 450-1020. Contact Arthur Egeli directly through his web site, www.arthuregeli.com. Tiiu Lukk is a journalist and author. She has worked for ABC News and the Washington Star as a foreign correspondent in South Africa; most recently, her travel writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News and AAA's "Home and Away" magazine. She is the author of "Movie Marketing: Opening the Picture and Giving it Legs," published by Silman James Press. Copyright
Tiiu Lukk 2003
|