精东影业

In a time when anyone can snap a picture on a smart phone some Northeast Ohioans are getting their pictures taken the old-fashioned way.  Once a week for the past decade, the have used paint, pencil and pastel to capture hundreds of local faces. 

In a side room at the Forest City Brewery Dana Smith has her eyes locked straight ahead for a recent portrait sitting.  She sits motionless, except for the occasional blink.  She鈥檚 held this pose for about a half an hour as 22 people paint her picture.

鈥�You鈥檇 think that maybe sitting there and having everyone stare at you would be kind of overwhelming, but it鈥檚 not, really,鈥� she says.  鈥淚t kind of becomes this weird, almost spiritual experience, where you鈥檙e just sitting there, zoned-out, watching everyone draw you.鈥�

Smith is among hundreds of Clevelanders who have given up their Friday evenings to pose for a portrait by the Pretentious Artists of Cleveland.  The name is a goof on the stereotype of artists being aesthetic snobs.  But there鈥檚 not much pretension among this friendly group.

Anyone is welcome to bring their art supplies and join these informal gatherings.  The Pretentious Artists are a mix of amateurs and professionals, sipping beers and soft drinks as they paint. 

鈥�You kind of have to get used to not judging yourself in competition with other people," says Nancy Lick, an art teacher. 鈥淵ou lose your self-consciousness after a while.鈥�

Tim Herron says he and a buddy, Brian Pierce, started the group in 2005.  They were looking for a way to hone their painting skills using live models.  A bowl of fruit is fine, but there鈥檚 nothing like the challenge of trying to capture the essence of a real person.  There are several drawing groups around town that hire models to pose, but that鈥檚 not in the budget of most artists on a weekly basis.

鈥�All our models come from the public,鈥� says Herron.  鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we get a new face each day, and we get an unlimited stable of people.  When you draw in the drawing groups, I pay $10-$15 to draw the model.鈥�

But, in this case the models get paid in paintings.  The sitters are given all of the portraits, once Tim Herron photographs them and puts them up on Facebook.  Herron notes that some of the artists weren鈥檛 too thrilled with that idea.

鈥淎 lot of times, artists are asked to give their art away and that can be draining,鈥� he says.  鈥淎t the same time, the art does get published, they see it, and they have a new model each week.  They don鈥檛 pay anything.  It鈥檚 just like exercise.鈥�

Stow native Anne Lyon is working with colored pencils this time.  She likes these weekly sessions, because they give her a chance to experiment.

鈥�I鈥檝e done some regular drawing, I鈥檝e done some charcoal, I tried a watercolor,鈥� she says.  鈥淎nd I wasn鈥檛 afraid to do it here, because if she doesn鈥檛 like it, she can throw it in the trash instead of me throwing it in the trash, so it doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥� 

Howard Collier鈥檚 skills can be clearly seen in his charcoal rendering of Dana Smith.  But, he admits even a seasoned artist has more to learn.

鈥淔or me, every week is just trying to get better at the art of portraiture,鈥� he says. 

Dana Smith鈥檚 two sisters have both had their portraits done in recent years, and the family is trying to figure out a way to display all those pictures.

鈥�We鈥檙e turning a wall into a shrine, actually,鈥� she laughs.  鈥淎nd it鈥檚 all my sisters, so I need to get up there, too!鈥�

If you want to get some personal portraits up on your wall, you鈥檒l have to get on the waiting list.  The next available opening is in October.