Ruiz Art Log

Don Norris Portrait Well Received

2010-02-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

Rob Wood, right, president of the M&K Foundation, surprised Donetta Norris with a portrait of her late husband Don Norris.

M & K Foundation Benefit raises $17,000
Portrait surprises and thrills family of late Don Norris

by Blake Giles
Published:
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 6:11 PM EST

At the 24th M&K Foundation Benefit Saturday, Don Norris was not there to accept the check. But his spirit was present, and his image too. Rob Wood, the president of the foundation since Norris’s death last year, presented a check for $17,000 to Norris’s daughter Tracy Kell, representing the proceeds from the benefit. Those funds will be used to fund scholarships and leadership camps.

But Wood surprised the family with the presentation of an oil portrait by Joe Ruiz, executive director of the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation.

“It was unbelievable,” said Wood. “There was some emotion.”

Norris’s daughter, Tracy Kell of Gainesville, admitted that she was not looking forward to the event this year, and her mother was not even going to attend. But they came at the insistence of Wood, and they were ultimately delighted they came.

“Mother was so excited,” said Kell of Donetta’s reaction to the portrait. It is amazing considering that Mr. Ruiz had never met Dad. It was uncanny how much the portrait looked like him. Mother was thrilled. It meant so much to us.”

Because he had never met Norris, Ruiz painted the portrait from photos.

“It can be difficult to do,” he said. “But I do it because people come and want it done on the sly. It is possible to work from photos, but it is not the best, because no matter how good the photos are, you might miss a detail that you could get from real life.”

Judging from the crowd reaction, Ruiz did not miss anything.

“It was pretty incredible when they unveiled it because there were a lot of oohs and aahs,” said Ruiz.

But Ruiz was overwhelmed when one of Don Norris’s granddaughters approached him in tears and told him that his oil portrait had capture her grandfather’s spirit.

“The thing about portraits is that you know that it will be passed on,” Ruiz said. “This will be with them for generations. It is an honor for me as an artist to be able to make something for the family.

“I always feel I know the person a little better after I stare at them for weeks,” he said.

Portrait of Watkinsville City Mayor Presented at Reception

2010-01-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

Portrait artist Joe Ruiz, left, accepts the thanks of Jim Luken at a reception in honor of the outgoing Watkinsville mayor. [Photo by Blake Giles]

Jim Luken and I met for the first time just days after I started as Excecutive Director of the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation(OCAF). I was just coming into work and he was out walking his dogs (as he and wife Marlene are apt to do in the early hours of the morning). We both aknowledged eachother and he told me that if we were to ever need anything from the city, just ask. He was true to his word, from then on he and I worked together closely on WTTA (Watkinsville Tourism and Trade Association) initiatives and numerous OCAF events. Jim has been a tireless proponent of art-centric business in Watkinsville and while not an artistic person, he has always understood the importance of it for our community.

Painting portraits, for me, is another way of getting to know somoene. I end up working on each portrait anywhere from 30 to 60 hours and more, about 1/3 of that is on the face alone. painting Jim was no different. I am glad for the opportunity to show the my other abilities as a painter because very few people locally know I do this. One of the best aspects of being a painter is the fact that I get to create one of a kind images that collectors will cherish for a long time, maybe even generations. Portraits are no different and probabaly even more so.

Opening Reception: Southern Tableau

2009-12-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

This is the opening rreception at the State Botanical Gardens. You can see Charles warnock on the left there with several others who came out for the reception. all in all there were probably about 30 people who came in over the 2 hour period.

A lot of local collectors from the Aurum show I had in the Fall of 08 were there, but it was a distinct pleasure to meet Gordon and Jinx Patel. They purchased two of my largest paintings from Aurum last year. Of course thanks must go out to all my friends who were able to make it out to show their support.

Over the course of the month that the show was up, I managed to sell 4 pieces to a collector from Virginia and a couple here in Athens. As I understand it, this is fairly unusual for this space. I've had subsequent conversations with William Tonks, head of facilities at the Botanical Gardens, about ways that they might improve on what they do, so that lots of sales become the norm as opposed to the exception.

State Botanical Gardens of Georgia Exhibit

2009-12-13T12:55:00.000-08:00

These are from the day that I hung my paintings at the Botanical Gardens of Georgia (October 22nd, 09) The hanging system they have installed makes the pieces go up very quick. Charles warnock was kind enough to give me a hand as he'd shown there three times in the last 8 years.

The painting in the center (Sheltered Grazing) drew a comment from a passerby, she asked if it was a painting and photograph collage? I try really hard to make the light as "correct" as I can in my landscapes. Still, I don't want them to look like photographs. Nonetheless, I know it's a compliment when people they say that.

The foyer, where the pieces are hung, allow a lot of natural light in. They installed several new lights in time for this show, bu the best thing was getting to see them in natural sunlight. I was able to use the same float frame on all the pieces which gives it a lot of cohesion. I've never done this before, but will continue to do this as much as possible. I really liked the look.

Demonstration: Swallowtail & Mexican Sunflowers

2009-03-08T17:57:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

As a diversion from the landscape paintings I've been doing these tight renditions of flowers and butterflys. The first one was Harbingers of Spring, which I entered into the Flowers and Gardens contest of International Artist Magazine. This was probably the 5th time I've submitted a piece to them. I didn't win any awards, but my piece will be included and printed in full color along with my contact information. Please keep an eye out for it in the April/May isssue, which should be hitting newstands soon. As soon as I found out that Harbingers of Spring was accepted, I immediatley set myself to completing another butterfly piece. I hope you enjoy the slideshow.

Lush Glade Demo

2009-01-11T17:30:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I've just figured out how to create a slideshow of a painting I did this past summer. I like the possibilities here so much, I'll have to do more like this.

First Entry

2008-10-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

This will obviously be my first blog entry. Hopefully there will be plenty of interesting content to add here in days to come. Right now though, I'm just familiarizing myself with the tools.