University President

[Sharon Knettell]

Alex,

This is wonderful! You have gone through a great deal of trouble to make what could be a stock university president portrait into a beautiful painting in itself. No mean feat! The composition and integration of the marble elements is just great. This deserves the award it got and more.

I was visiting one of the hospitals in Boston last Monday, a saw some paintings of the big wheels of this major hospital, behind some servings of crumpets. They should have called you.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Garth, thank you for your glowing assessment now and for your encouragement while it was on the easel. As for your claim that I did "everything right," I not so sure, but I did put a lot of effort into making all the elements work together. He has a very vital personality so I think it was a relatively straightforward likeness.

Sharon, thanks! I'm allergic to stock portraits of any kind. Unfortunately they abound in this area, too. Jefferson University Hospital just unloaded Eakins' Gross Clinic ,unfortunately--at least it's in the art museum now. But Drexel University, where this is going, has a really excellent collection of portraits and landscapes, which we should see if you come this way.

[Heidi Maiers]

What could possibly have topped this? Doesn't get much better. I especially like that painting of the bust, wouldn't ya know. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful painting Alex!

[Chris Saper]

Oh, Alex, it is just fabulous!

The composition is spectacular and I feel that he is a charismatic man I'd love to meet.

Well-earned congratulations!

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thank you, Heidi and Chris!

Heidi, I admire artists like you who can actually create something in three dimensions--unlike myself, who can only paint the illusion of a 3-D object or subject. Anyway, I'm attaching a closeup of the bust (sorry, the resolution isn't great, since it's just a enlargement of the original jpeg.)

Chris, I am sure he would appreciate your reaction. He is a very dynamic leader, both visionary and practical, and I quickly saw why he brought Drexel out of a financial and academic decline 10 years ago and made it a thriving and exciting university with new law and medical schools. I wanted the portrait to reflect his power and also tie him to the historic origins of the school.

[Carlos Ygoa]

Alex,
I like very much the way you handled the face (among the other elements, of course, which also have technical mastery)...real and lifelike and expressive. From what I

[Dan Landrie]

I'm no expert, but I can see that this is beautifully done.

Congratulations Alexandra.