Amanda redux

I liked my portrait of Amanda Gorman that I did for the inauguration, but although it was a good portrait, it wasn't the best likeness. Her eyes have a particular almond shape and slant that I didn't quite capture; and I thought I could do better. Also, although I picked the colors on purpose (red and blue for the big day), they are not Amanda Gorman's true colors, nor are they apparently her preferred colors—too cool! So here is my second attempt.

I also used this opportunity to do approximately the lesson for Week 3 of Let's Face It 2021. We were supposed to do the assignment inside a book; I instead chose to use a page from a book over my watercolor paper. (It's a page from my old, falling-apart copy of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.) The assignment was also painted in acrylics and clear gesso, but since the only thing I have is inks and watercolors, I used those instead. But I think it fulfills the spirit of the assignment, which was to use print as a background, to add some interesting detail, and to be painterly! I added the "caged bird singing" to acknowledge Amanda's ring from Oprah, a memento of Maya Angelou.

After I was all done, I wished that I had handwritten the text of her poem in the background, but at this point I was afraid to mess up several hours' work, so I'll have to try that another time. I instead added some stencilled leaves in watercolor pencil, which I somewhat regret, but...it's done.

Pencil, Uniball pen, Signo white gel pen, watercolor pencil, stencil, Daler Rowney inks, watercolor, on gesso'd book page and Fluid 140-lb. coldpress watercolor paper, 9x12 inches.

The inclusive inauguration

If you don't know who Amanda Gorman is tonight, you certainly will tomorrow. She is an American poet and activist from Los Angeles, California, whose work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.

In 2014, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate for Los Angeles. In 2015, she published a book of poetry, The One For Whom Food Is Not Enough, at the age of 17. Gorman, now 22, is the first person ever to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. Her children's book, Change Sings, releases in 2021.

Tomorrow, she will also be the youngest poet ever to read a poem at a presidential inauguration. Recommended to the Biden inaugural committee by Dr. Jill Biden, in late December she was asked to write an original poem for the occasion. Gorman will perform "The Hill We Climb," which she says she completed after the events of January 6th.

Another interesting detail about her that gives her something in common with the incoming President is that she has had to overcome a speech impediment. She had difficulty saying certain letters of the alphabet—the letter R was especially tough—which caused her to have to constantly "self-edit and self-police."

"I'd want to say 'girls can change the world,' but I cannot say so many letters in that statement, so I'd say things like 'young women can shape the globe.' instead."

Here is my poor attempt to capture her likeness. The quote is from a speech she gave, and begins: "A girl who dreams to be the first in her line to go to school is the most vivid of things—like the one red spark that stands up to the sky in a chorus of wet logs." Tomorrow, Amanda will be that one red spark.

Daler Rowney inks, pencil, Uniball pen, Signo white gel pen, watercolor, on 140-lb. cold-press Fluid watercolor paper, 7x10 inches.