Lost Crane Portrait Project
Cranes are symbolic of balance, good fortune and longevity (due to their fabled 1,000 year life-span). In Japanese tradition, folding 1,000 origami paper cranes results in a wish granted.
I am interested in igniting a passion for portraiture in Dubuque. In the past, there were historic businesses where portrait painters had studios in downtown Dubuque.
The Lost Crane Project is an initiative where live portraits are painted of community members from a range of backgrounds in a downtown Dubuque studio. Each sitter participates in two sessions while the public is welcome to observe and, once completed, the portrait is gifted to the sitter.
It is my hope that these portraits will be a physical representation of the support, love and care this person has supplied their family and something that will be passed down through the subsequent generations.
Below are the first portraits from this project. These are the practice rounds and I’m eternally grateful to each sitter for their patience and generosity as I work through the logistics of this project and sharpen my live painting skills.
