Loudoun Campus Art Gallery

"I visited a friend, a fellow painter, earlier this year and sat for a portrait. Sitting for her was an intense experience; I had forgotten what it was like to be someone's model, to be closely studied--especially by a friend. The session took about two hours. When I saw the painting, I was taken aback. She had nailed it; it was me. I came home not only wanting to paint portraits, but to recreate that environment for whomever was going to model for me. Since most of my friends are my work friends, and since I work with a bunch of art lovers, I decided to ask colleagues to sit for me.

This show is a selection of those portraits."

- Julie Heath

Julie Heath is a painter and an Education Specialist at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.