New Gallery Show: My "Seasons" Portrait Series at City Art Gallery

This month, I am so excited to be participating in my first show at City Art Cooperative Gallery in San Francisco! Check out my new portraits!

I have been wanting to experiment with different time periods and seasons for a while now, and getting into City Art Gallery gave me the opportunity to play around with some new portraits! I am inspired by all the strong women that lived through out history.

First up Spring...

Debra Styer, Blossoms Awake Spring, 2018

Watercolor and Gouache

This was inspired by my love of Jane Austen and the English countryside. Here's Miss Emmeline and the buzzing (and stinging) of her springtime bees.

Debra Styer, The Wings of Summer, 2018

Watercolor and Gouache

My summer portrait was inspired by the amazing style of the Harlem Renaissance and the 1930's. I imagine Miss Georgette listening to with the music of Billie Holiday as the summer butterflies dance around her in the summer wind. 

Debra Styer, Fall of the Dead Leaves, 2018

Watercolor and Gouache

Of course, I need to have at least one dark Victorian portrait. Here's my inspiration for a 19th Century Fall portrait of the wonderful Miss Thora as she hides in the deep dark woods with her adorable (but very scary) little owl friend.

Lastly, is Winter...

Debra Styer, Red Fox in Winter, 2018

watercolor and gouache

My winter was inspired by the fashion of Queen Elizabeth and her contemporaries. I love all the crazy stiff collars of this time period. Could you imagine what it must have felt like to wear such things. 

This is my winter wonderland portrait of Miss Sybyll and her pet fox, Finn.

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If you want to see the portraits in person, they will be hanging at City Art Gallery until April 1st.

City Art Cooperative Gallery

828 Valencia St,

San Francisco, CA 94110

UPDATE: Prints now available in the Shop!

The Tiny Show is here!

I am so pleased to have 4 new pieces in the upcoming Tiny Show at Studio Gallery in San Francisco.

This is my 5th year in doing this show. All my painting for this show are, well, Tiny. Each portrait is 5"x5". It can be a bit of a challenge to work that small but I actually enjoy it. My usual portrait size is about 9x12.

I decided to go with something new this year...the French Revolution!

Famous and Infamous portraits of 18th Century France.

First off...The Famous.

I was inspired to create these portraits after visiting the Palace of Versailles last year. I found the palace to be truly obnoxious. I couldn't imagine living in such luxury, and self aggrandizement. Honestly, it made me pretty depressed walking around. Having that reaction, I knew I need to paint these two.

Debra Styer, Louis XVI, Last King of France, 2017

Debra Styer, Marie Antoinette, Last Queen of France, 2017

In the end, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were kind of made for each other. They were blinded by their riches and hidden away in their royal fortress.

The world finally chose the power of the people over the ruling of King.

Next, the Infamous...

Debra Styer, Portrait of Jean-Paul Marat, 2017

Debra Styer, The Assassin Charlotte Corday, 2017

The Revolution must have also been an exciting/terrible time to live. One of the most intense happenings was the murder of scientist, journalist and political activist Jean-Paul Marat. His murderer,  Charlotte Corday, assassinated him at his most vulnerable while he was taking a health bath (he had a a incurable skin disease). Ms. Corday blamed Marat for possibly inciting a violent massacre with his political writing, so she stabbed in the heart. Only to be executed for her crimes four days later.

Both rose to great notoriety in the history of France.

Want to see my portraits in person? Stop by and say hello, and check out my work and the work of over 195 amazing local Bay Area artists!

I will be at the reception on Sunday.

The Tiny show opens today!

tiny

small pieces from local artists

Nov. 10th - Dec. 23rd, 2017

opening reception - Sunday, Nov. 12th 1-6 pm
14th anniversary party - Sunday, Dec. 3rd 1-6 pm

STUDIO Gallery
1641 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, CA  94109

Hope to see you there!

William Shakespeare (The Great Bard): Writers Portrait Love

Just a quick post to show off my latest writers portrait illustration the unbelievably talented, William Shakespeare! He was really fun to draw and it was great to break out of the Victorian era for a bit and jump back a few hundred years to the Elizabethan Age.

Debra Styer, Much Ado About Shakespeare, 2015

William Shakespeare Literary Portrait

It is a special challenge to draw portraits of people before the invention of photography. All of the existing paintings of him done are so different. For reference, I used the younger

Cobbe portrait

from 1610,

and the more traditional

Droeshout Portrait

from 1622. I suppose I like the older version of Shakespeare myself. I think we all have a certain vision of writing legends in our minds. I hope I was able to capture a good creation of the Bard.

Of course, he is now available in the shop! I hope you like him!! Hope you like him!