One of the reasons why I chose to live stream these events was to make my portraits accessible to disabled people and disabled artists who couldn’t get to the live events in person. I wanted to breakdown social and artistic isolation and create a dialogue between a live and invisible audience, pushing the boundaries of what constitutes collaboration and participatory practice.
Throughout the last three portrait events we have been followed by and tweeted by many people including artist Jane McCormick middleofnowhere Ireland – this is what she had to say about her Portraits Untold live stream experience.
‘I am an disabled artist living in rural Ireland and so far I have participated in 3 Portraits Untold live streamed sessions. My illness that has left me with very little energy for participating in art activities away from home which can be very isolating. I have a blog on DAO and this is where I heard about portraits untold. It has been a really enjoyable experience so far and what a bonus to do be able to participate in these live events from the comfort of my sofa, at my own pace, with a pot of tea on the go and my drawing tools spread out around me. Although much of my current work is digital I have always loved life drawing and the Portraits Untold session have given me a manageable way back into this practice again. I love the chat between Tanya and the sitters and the tweeting that goes on during the session…it gives me a feeling of being connected and in the room with the sitter and the artists. I am really looking forward to the next session with David Hoyle and am anticipating a rich stream of chat that day!
Many thanks to Tanya and all the team in Portraits Untold.” – by @janemccormick57
Thanks Jane! See you on Saturday at David Hoyle’s event Beningborough Hall 10:30am-5pm.
You can check out the rest of Tanya's blog here http://portraitsuntold.co.uk/blog/ or follow her on twitter @PortraitsUntold or @tanyaraabe