Alex Garcia's Portraits in Egg Tempera

"El Boricua," by Alex Garcia (self-portrait), 6" x 8", egg tempera on panel

"Be Still," by Alex Garcia, (portrait of the artist's wife, Carmen)

20" x 16", egg tempera on panel

"Little Linda," by Alex Garcia, 8" x 6", egg tempera on panel (Alex's daughter)

"Little Puppet," by Alex Garcia, 8" x 6", egg tempera on panel (Alex's youngest son)


Alex's lovely family!

Generous artist and friend of mine, Alex Garcia, does so much for other artists, I'd like to thank him with a post, if it's just to show you how special his own art is. The example on top of this row of portraits shows how irresistibly Alex manages to get a spiritual quality in his portraits which is both iconic, and icon-like.

It's so inspiring to see how Alex does his egg tempera paintings. I recommend a visit to his website to see his step-by-step portrait of Carmen, his wife, and how beautifully he has also portrayed two of his children, shown here, as well as many others. I can't wait to see the finished portrait of of his oldest son, which is currently in step-by-step progress on his blog.

I believe it has been partly out of his respect and admiration for other egg tempera painters, such as Andrew Wyeth, and his willingness to take the time to study and to appreciate how others have worked with the medium that Alex has so finely tuned his own skills as a tempera painter. And it's easy to see also, from these family portraits, what a loving father and husband he is!

An Online Review of My Portrait Series

Sorry for announcing this late because I've been out of town, but this week my spiritual portrait series has received a lovely review from Alex Garcia on his new website: "Artists I Like". To read it, please visit this link: Mona Diane Conner - Spiritual Beauty

Thank you Alex for your very kind words about this series which is so close to my heart!

Progress on "The 'Mary' in Terry #2," & "The 'Mary' in Unni"

"The 'Mary' in Terry #2," (in progress) 19 1/2" x 15 1/2", pastel on La Carte pastel board

"The 'Mary' in Unni," 11 1/2" x 8 1/2", pencil drawing

(click images to see them larger)

Apart from her talent as an artist, fine art photographer, and musician, my friend Unni's wonderful spirit has been an inspiration to me. She has made an amazing recovery from major illness for the second time. In the summer of 2005, around the time I first began to dip into the idea of trying to make spiritual portraits, I met Unni at a religious art show where we were both participants called "Spirituality in the Arts" at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA.

When I showed Unni one of my first studies (the one which is also the masthead for this blog) and described my series to her, she was so enthusiastic about it that she posed for me right on the spot, and this drawing is based on her pose at the art show. I haven't forgotten how her enthusiasm has energized my effort with this series. Just wish I'd done it sooner for Unni's 'Mary' portrait, but at least this drawing is a start.

Unni credits her recovery from illness in part to the practice of a gentle flowing form of hatha yoga, which she now teaches. Please take a moment to read more about Unni, at her website: Unni's Healing Yoga

"The 'Mary' in Terry," #3, further progress

"The 'Mary' in Terry #3", (more progress) blue and white pastel on colorfix pastel paper

I have a little more work on the dark blue robe and general fine-tuning, and I want to try something special for the background which entails a trip to the art store, but more soon on this limited color pastel. Next I'll resume my progress on "The 'Mary' in Terry #2".

"The 'Mary' in Terry," #3 in progress

"The 'Mary' in Terry #3", blue and white pastel on colorfix pastel paper

Sorry for my absence here while I've been preparing for another miniature show. There are always lots of details to handle and wrap up when preparing to ship a show, but it also inspired me to bust out and try something different before I resume completion of "The 'Mary' in Terry #2". I'll post the final version of this one tomorrow.

Portrait of Lauren

"Lauren at Twenty-two", 4 1/2" x 4", graphite drawing

My niece turned twenty-two today, and here is a drawing I made for her birthday! Happy Birthday Lauren!