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| Katie O'Hagan "Life Raft" 2011 |
New York state-based contemporary painter Katie O'Hagan was born and raised in Scotland, moving to the U.S. in 1993. Formally trained as a silversmith at the Edinburgh College of Art, she began painting in oils in about 2004. Raising two young children precluded formal instruction in the craft of painting but with her previous training, innate sense of design and the mentorship of a neighboring artist, Paul McCormack, O'Hagan has quickly made up for lost time. This painting won a 2012 Portrait Society of America Certificate of Excellence and is a finalist in the National Portrait Gallery’s current Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
Life Raft is a self-portrait depicting O'Hagan's emotional state during some difficult personal circumstances, but this piece speaks to many people because painting is certainly a life raft for artists for all kinds of reasons. O'Hagan's father in Scotland is said to have helped his daughter by collecting the wood for the raft. More of the artist's work can be seen on her website here.
6 comments:
I love your observation that "painting is certainly a life raft for artists for all kinds of reasons." As is writing for writers, et al. What a stunning painting, thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Thank you Gail! I believe this piece will soon be hanging in Washington DC in the National Portrait Gallery, so that many more people will see it. I admit I feel a little proud at snagging this piece for the WAP project as soon as I laid eyes on it, many months ago! It was so clearly a painting of power.
I love the way she is creating her own means of rescue. There's a lesson there for all of us, although it would take someone more eloquent to say what it is.
On another note, do you have to get permission to show all these paintings? It must be a big project.
Yes, obtaining permissions from the living artists can be challenging! Sometimes I even have to give up and not use some great piece because I can't figure out how to make contact with the artist. Other times this process has put me in friendly contact with some wonderful people, so it can be wildly rewarding too!
Katie O'Hagan has a really powerful voice as an artist. I love her self-portraits.
Saw this painting "Life Raft" at The National Portrait Gallery in DC today, where can I buy this portrait?
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