June Chen Ahleman creates oil portraits and is a student at the Chicago Waldorf School. Her portrait includes other aspects of her face and human form.
Some are smaller, but most are very large, up to 4 x 8 feet. To reach the pinnacle of her work, she often paints on her three-tiered stool. Her portraits are meant to represent the identity of the person as a whole. Not just their image.
As a senior in high school, Ahleman’s art studio needs and furnishings take over her family’s guest room, including large wooden painting panels propped against tarp-covered walls.
She often uses paper pallet pads that are easy to clean up. Also, her digital her technology has a variety of uses for planning and viewing. Ahleman uses her two floor-standing lights to paint because this room doesn’t have her lights overhead.
Artwork time is usually in the evening after homework is done. Her love for portraits also meant she sketched a lot of faces, and now she frequently sketches her daily self-portraits during recess at school.
Ahleman describes her process as very “plan-oriented.” She primarily develops a list of ideas about the conceptual identity of the subject (traditionally called the ‘sitter’). She wants more Asians to appear in her art work, so her ideas are often important when creating her list.
Her portrait plans are based heavily on her interviews with the subject, which helps her to better understand who she is and what interests her. You are ready to paint a picture that expresses the essence of
“We collect their ideas as well, because we don’t want to abuse their looks,” Ahleman said. All this applies to her painting plans and schedules. She also takes and references several photos of her subjects.
Her next step is to create a sketch of the big picture. Once you like her sketches, make each sketch a ‘eyeball’ or use a projector to paint large white tones and scale them up to fit her surface.
she said: The nose is very distinctive and makes a person stand out. Ahleman’s style is to paint element by element before moving on to the next element. First the nose, then the eyes, then the rest of the face.
Then move on to other elements that represent the person working on the sketch and plan. Her color mixing takes up most of her project time. She explains, “No two places on her face have the same skin tone.” So the portrait has many independent and unique colors.
While creating a painting, Ahleman may revisit the subject for discussion and feedback. She sometimes records interviews for later reference. She hopes the painting will reveal more of the person’s wholeness. Yes, it is a portrait, but it is also a more developed and authentic personal depiction.
Once the painting is complete, it may be ready for display or hung in your home.
June Chen Ahleman joined Evanston Made in middle school and founder Lisa Degliantoni has been very supportive of her. From her heart, she says, “It makes a difference to have someone who believes in me.”
If you’d like to see more of her art, 1100 Florence Gallery presents her new solo exhibition, Identity and Fortune, March 4-5.find her again Click here for the websiteupon Instagram is here or Made by Evanston.
