INTERVIEW: Pamela duLong Williams | Ogunquit Art Association (OAA) Showcase Artist

Pamela duLong Williams is an Ogunquit Art Association member-artist (Painter) and one of our 6 Showcase Artists at Barn Gallery for the 2023 Season.

Pamela duLong Williams’ Showcase at Barn Gallery will run from September 13th – October 9th, 2023 with an Opening Reception on Saturday, September 23rd (from 4PM – 7:30PM) and a Gallery Talk (along with Painter, Russel Whitten) on Thursday, September 21st, at 6 PM.

Learn more about the Barn Gallery 2023 Schedule: barngallery.org/2023-season

What is the theme of the body of work will you be exhibiting in your showcase?

“Living Color.”

How does this body of artwork relate to your earlier work?

It is a further exploration of simplifying the form and strengthening my palette.

How do the materials you are using contribute to your exhibition theme?

Purest pigment in oil and watercolor.

Let’s talk, for a moment, about your artistic development.

The anatomy of the figure and the palette challenges of the flesh have been my greatest inspiration of more than 55 years. However what compels me to paint is color and composition no matter what the medium. Although my most loved medium is oil and its unlimited possibilities.

Can you share a few comments about your past accomplishments and future goals.

My greatest accomplishments have been the awards and recognitions for my portrait / figurative work — some of which have held first place in the Copley Society and the National Academy of NYC. The collection I am a part of, and most proud of, is the State House Collection of Portraits, Boston, MA.

Pamela duLong Williams attended the Art Students League, NYC, Boston Museum School of Fine Art, and graduated from Vesper George School of Art, Boston, MA.

She has taught painting in oil at Silvermine School of Art, New Canaan, CT; UNH, Durham, NH; Coolidge Art Center, Portsmouth, NH; Heartwood College of Art, Kennebunk, ME; Rowayton Art Center, Rowayton, CT; as well as numerous workshops in this country and abroad since 1976.

Her works have exhibited in competitions and collections such as the National Academy, NYC; Allied Artists, NYC; Creditianstalt, NYC; The Louis Williams Cone Collection; The State House Collection of Boston; Artist’s Magazine; American Artist Magazine; Coastal Living Magazine; as well as numerous galleries in this country and abroad.

In addition to being a juried artist-member of the Ogunquit Art Association, she is also currently an active member of Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, CT; The Copley Society, Boston, MA; and the Portrait Society of America.

Artist Statement

My creative process for portraiture begins with what the model projects. Body language is a very important part of achieving a likeness. Therefore, I do not pose my models. I talk with them after they seat themselves. The more we talk the more comfortable they tend to become in the chair and in my company. I watch them move about in the chair until I am struck with a composition. Left to position them selves with no more direction than sitting or standing, the subject will take a pose that is characteristic of them.

Once we have a pose which suits both their comfort and my inspiration I begin to choose back ground colors and set the lights. Selecting the right size and proportioned canvas is next. I begin drawing in charcoal on the canvas. Correcting the anatomy and placement continuously. Developing the drawing can take up to an hour or more.

When satisfied I spray with fixative and begin painting. I first analyze the subject’s flesh-tones and decide on the colors I will use. I lay in my large dark shadow shapes first, beginning with the eyes and then working all over the face and down through the body. Constantly painting the colors and values I identify. Then I paint in the local colors, or mid tone shapes. Lastly I paint in the lights. I strive to cover the entire canvas with paint as soon as possible. Since I work on a white canvas it is important to establish and overstate my values in the first stages.

Now I have my “knock in” which I will then devote hours to repainting until I am satisfied with the finish. The face can take me from six hours to infinity. Sometimes new starts are needed.

Portraiture is one of the more difficult expressions of painting. It demands a command of the anatomy, color, and composition. The success of portrait painting is to first and foremost commit myself to the art of making a good painting. A well-composed interesting painting conveying an inspired moment. A downward glance. A woman in a red hat. A woman defiantly smoking a cigarette.

I do not work from photos. The interaction between myself and the model is of paramount importance. The animation of my subject which occurs during our relaxed sessions is what helps me to understand the structure of their face and body movements. It enables me to achieve the personality of the subject. Secondly, the camera does not provide enough of the spacial depth (in terms of subtle but necessary transitions of temperature and intensity of color) needed to recede or project the form in space. Since my approach to all work is that of the impressionist school, working from life is essential with still life and plein air painting, as well as portraiture.

My approach to laying in a portrait is also the progression of steps I use in all my work. I first decide what my most striking impression is of my subject. The light. The palette. The scale. The emotional response to a moment in time that will never occur again.

LEARN MORE: pameladulongwilliams.com