Anne Griswold Tyng

[Alexandra Tyng]

Many of you have already seen this in the making in the WIP section, but here it is in its finished state. The subject is my mother, an architect, who just recently celebrated her 86th birthday.

She is reaching up to steady a hanging tensegrity model made of four triangles held together by the tension of the string connecting all the points and forming an icosahedron. It's one of her many geometric discoveries. The models below show different stages of construction of her "Four-Poster" house. The house is entirely a space frame with living spaces created by the structure. In the background is the faint drawing of a city tower she designed with my father back in the 1950s. It was an idea that was never built. I tried to keep the portrait simple but still show some of her major designs and explorations.

I asked her to wear the Chinese jacket because she was born in China and spent part of her childhood there.

The portrait is the second of three portraits destined for the Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania.

[Allan Rahbek]

Hi Alex,
I, too, wish that we shared neighborhood. I would look over your shoulder most of the time.
Fantastic value scheme and beautiful textures all over. The light on your mothers head is just right, it is perfectly balanced with the dark background.

[Garth Herrick]

Originally Posted by Allan Rahbek

Hi Alex,
I, too, wish that we shared neighborhood. I would look over your shoulder most of the time.
Fantastic value scheme and beautiful textures all over. The light on your mothers head is just right, it is perfectly balanced with the dark background.

Allan, you will just have to visit!

Dear Alex, As you know, I just saw this during my last studio visit at your place. She is wonderful, and her personality sparkles through so effectively! I'd know her instantly in a crowd.



Garth

[Claudemir Bonfim]

That's great! I loved it.

[Cynthia Daniel]

Beautiful, Alex.

[Lacey Lewis]

Yay! I have been in anticipation of this unveiling for some time. It looks great, Alex!

Could you please post a close up of a part of the jacket?

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thanks, everyone!

Allan, yes, it is too bad Denmark is so far from Philadelphia USA.! It is so much fun to pop in on people and see what they are working on in their studios. I like it, too, when other artists visit me. Someday I'm going to see your work in person.

Bonfim, thank you! You are always there to be supportive and I really appreciate it.

Wow, Cynthia, I rarely hear from you in this section. I'll take it as a good sign.

Hi, Lacey, thanks so much. Sorry about the delay in posting this. I'll post some closeups tomorrow.

[Mike McCarty]

Alex,

I looked up those big words and I thought my head was going to explodrahedron.

That's one fine painting, I bet you're mum is real proud of you.

[Rob Sullivan]

Alex, this is so sensitively done, and is imbued with a sense of the sitter's intelligence. The geometric forms, though beautiful and purposeful, must have been a pain in the posterior-o-hedron to render, if you get my drift. Very diligent of you.

The icosohedron reminds me a little of the Hoberman Sphere. Then again, I am so mathematically challenged, I wouldn't know isoscoles from Sophocles.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thank you, Rob!

Well, I know the difference between icoceles and Sophocles, but I never heard of a Hoberman sphere! I guess a trip to the dictionary is in order.

The geometric forms were time-consuming. There were a lot of adjustments along the way. I'd say the only part that really drove me crazy was painting the models on the floor. Getting the perspective, the angles of the stands, the relative size and distance as they went back in space was pretty exhausting! Once all that was correct, then I addressed the problem of how to suggest the forms in paint without putting in too much detail, and how to reduce the amount of detail, lower the values, etc., as they went back in space.

P.S. Math was my worst subject. I wonder how many artists are really good at math.