If you aren’t signed up for the Studio Incamminati workshop next week, you can still get a taste of what students will be learning by attending artist Lea Colie Wight’s portrait-painting demonstrations from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sheldon Museum.
Klukwan resident Lani Hotch will pose in full regalia for the demonstrations.
Wight is a teacher at the Philadelphia-based Studio Incamminati, a nonprofit art school focusing on contemporary realism. Studio Incamminati – which translates to “those who are progressing” in Italian – was founded in 2002 by artist Nelson Shanks, a famous painter whose commissioned works include portraits of Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Princess Diana.
Wight, who trained under Shanks, will paint Hotch over the course of two days. Wight will also offer commentary during the demonstrations, said artist and Wight’s local host Donna Catotti.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the entire demonstration or come and go as they please, Catotti said.
Catotti said she asked Hotch to pose for the painting because of the work she has done with the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center and other cultural projects. “She’s done a lot for her community,” Catotti said. “It seemed like she was an ideal person to be remembered that way.”
Wight is also teaching a five-day workshop from June 15-19.
The demonstrations and workshop will culminate Friday, June 19, with the opening reception for the museum’s new exhibit, “Portraits – People in Paint.” The reception is from 5 to 7 p.m.
Wight’s portrait of Hotch will be displayed in the exhibit, as will portraits submitted by local artists and members of the Alaska chapter of the Portrait Society of America.