November/December 2010 Cover Artist
A Love of Faces
by Anna Magruder
In 2009, I decided to take a leap of faith and leave the routine and security of my design business to focus on what’s become my passion — oil painting and illustration. My favorite subjects are people and animals and whatever lies between. Drifting between realism and surrealism, I love recreating vintage America, reimagining the lives and stories of strong women, capturing the dormant kookiness or sweet serenity of a local cat, or just exploring the emotional color of faces in the crowd.
I love faces and gain tremendous joy from painting people. I collect old yearbooks and find inspiration in the rows of faces with their dated hairstyles and clothes, the candid shots around campus as well as the posed group shots. I am inspired by black and white photos from the past that I can then interpret with my own color palette and meaning.
My hope is that others might respond to my art on a very personal level and maybe even see themselves or parts of themselves in my subjects. I love to capture others’ imaginations in a way that causes them to see the world in a slightly different way.
Anna Magruder, a Portland-based artist, has artwork featured in the Portland Tarot Art Show at Splendorporium at 3421 SE 21st Ave. in Portland from Nov. 5-Dec. 31 and in The Big 100 Art Show at Goodfoot Gallery at 2845 SE Stark in Portland from Dec. 2-4. Visit www.annamagruder.com.