Subject
painting, portrait, male, man, body, figure
Description
Award-winning watercolorist and well-known local artist Kay Ornberg has created a large watercolor that expresses stunning beauty, a poignant message, and an innovative approach. The human figures loom large in the visual frame and sit strongly on the oversized watercolor paper. Working with live models, Ornberg grasps the looseness and spontaneity of life drawing while technically seizing fully realized figures. The five male figures stand strong in the painting, perhaps a metaphor for the strength of every man. In 1962, President Kennedy signed a bill called The Manpower Act, which developed and trained unemployed men for new jobs as the first major federal job training program. Today we are faced with serious questions about unemployment and the self-esteem of our youth, particularly young men, and so this work stands as testament to that man (and woman) power. Plains Art Museum.