Dr. Kevin Hicks, Head of School
The Hotchkiss School, 36 x 26 oil on linen,
Collection The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecitcut
Your work is
beautiful and flattering, and I appreciate your meticulous attention to detail,
craftsmanship, and warmth….
With sincere
gratitude, Kevin
Dr.
Kevin M. Hicks '85
Former
Head of The Hotchkiss School
Current President
Stevenson
School
Thanks
so much for this great work of art...John
John
P. Tuke
Chief
Financial Officer
The
Hotchkiss School
In April 2015, I was contacted by John Tuke, the CFO of The Hotchkiss School for a commission to capture on canvas the current Head of School, Dr. Kevin Hicks. I was delighted and honored to have such a prestigious commission. The Hotchkiss School is one of the top preparatory schools in the Country. Both my brothers went to Hotchkiss, and I can still remember watching my brothers play soccer on many beautiful crisp colorful fall afternoons.
I traveled to The Hotchkiss School to meet with Dr. Hicks and to see where the portrait would hang. This opportunity would also help decide the portrait setting and composition. It was a delight to meet Dr. Hicks! He was so warm and engaging, and an attractive man with blue twinkling eyes and a easy friendly and sincere smile. Dr. Hicks earned a B.A. in Religious Studies from Yale and a Ph.D. in English from Princeton. He also served for 5 years,the Dean of Berkeley College at Yale University. A very accomplished young man! After my meeting with Dr. Hicks, I was given a tour of the Main building and viewed potential staging areas with the helpful Curator, Joan Baldwin.
The
size of the oil portrait was decided, along with where the portrait
would hang. Because the portrait would have a simple background, I asked
if there was anything meaningful and special to Dr. Hicks that we could
include, not only for composition but also to give the portrait a more
personal meaning. Joan mentioned that Dr. Hicks was fond of a
special antique chair, which has been in the school's collection for long time,( the matching desk was in Dr. Hicks' office). I thought this would be a fine addition to the composition, see below:
I decided that the large seminar room was the best spot to pose Dr. Hicks. The lighting is wonderful,
particularly with the two walls in the alcove (looking out towards
the front circle) softly reflecting the morning light. Two weeks after the initial meeting, I returned to The Hotchkiss School to take the reference photos for the portrait of Dr. Hicks.
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| Seminar Room view from outside main building entrance |
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Seminar Room with staging set up
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After the photos were taken, Dr. Hicks and I reviewed together and selected the photo(s) that we thought would work best for the portrait and evoke Dr. Hicks' warm, thoughtful and spiritual nature.
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Photo reference for the portrait
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Now, I am ready to get to work!
Below are stages of the portrait development: first, blocking in the masses, then building and refining the details.
To see more of my commissioned artwork and painting, please visit: www.SusanDurkee.com
