By KAROLYN GEPHART
Local portrait artist Vicky Gooch wants votes from her community for her special Pandemic Self Portrait currently competing in the international competition sponsored by the Portrait Society of America.
The Society has had to cancel many events and started an online Portrait Society of America’s Pandemic Self Portrait Fundraiser.
Gooch entered her portrait, “Hi Mom. It’s Me”, a 16 X 12 oil on linen panel.
Voting began July 25 to select the top paintings.
Money is raised for the non-profit society through votes which cost $1 each.
Gooch chose a subject to paint that is personal during the pandemic.
“One of the big adjustments for me during the Covid-19 pandemic is not being able to enter the facility where my mother lives. It’s hard but it helps contain the virus. I come into the entry and visit her through the glass,” Gooch said. “I decided to make my Pandemic Self-Portrait about this part of my life.”
Gooch captured a photo that just barely picked up her reflection in the glass as her mom was trying to see who it was. Once she got the photo of herself, she could begin to lay out the design and then paint it, making her mom more clear and her own face reflected.
Gooch is known in Pearland for her large portrait of Mayor Tom Reid which hangs in the Tom Reid Library. She specializes in fine art oil paintings using techniques of the old masters and impressionists, style referred to as Classical Realism.
“My experience with painting from life gives me the ability to understand my subject and the nuances of color and light needed to bring life to the subject,” Gooch said.
Voting for Gooch’s painting will be open now through August 24. To vote, follow the link on Portrait Society of America at https://www.gogophotocontest.com/portraitsocietyofamerica/entries/229359.
Established in February 1998, the Portrait Society of America is a 501(c)3 registered charity, formed as an educational organization dedicated to furthering the traditions of fine art portraiture and figurative art through programs and publications.
Local artist Vicky Gooch is competing in an international portrait contest with her pandemic self portrait “Hi Mom. It’s Me.” She is asking for votes to win the contest.
