Portaits of America's Veterans Project

Portraits of America’s Veterans Project” incorporates original oil paintings of American Veterans with the photographs and stories about the veterans told in their own words. This project is in the beginning phase with a long term goal of representing American Veterans in narrative context where the paintings and stories will provide a visual dialogue, and a connection between the viewer and the veteran.

Goal:
To represent Veterans who served in America’s foreign conflicts, and chronicle their stories, many whose lives have been defined or shaped by war. The long tem goal is to create a visual “archive”, through collaborations with the veterans and artist. The stories and painted portraits will eventually comprise a traveling exhibition.

If you are a veteran, willing to share your stories and take some time to visit the studio of Jeanine Hill-Soldner in Crystal Lake, or If you are unable to travel, arrangements will be made for a visit and interview, photo shoot and sketching session. The artist will then produce the oil painting her art studio.

Jeanine Hill-Soldner is the artist, whose Dad was a Marine Corps veteran who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam., The artist’s exhibits include the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago, featured on PBS; the artist’s profile, documenting her family's story during the Vietnam War.

The first phase of the project will exhibit November 2 –28, 2009
Lakeside Legacy Arts Park , 401 Country Club Rd., Crystal Lake. www.lakesidelegacy.org

For more information contact:
Jeanine Hill-Soldner
Soldner Fine Art Studio
jeanine@soldnerfineart.com www.soldnerfineart.com

pilgrimage and passages

Memories of an Era

Workshop for Contemporary Artists

Front from left: Nancy Seidler, Doris Davis Gallagher, Alice White, Jeanine Hill-Soldner, Judith Nahill, Lynn Carlson, and Patricia Tanner

Here we all are after the first phase of hanging our group show in the Old Courthouse Art Center in Woodstock. Were lunching at the Petite Crepere in the lovely outdoor courtyard, in front of the old jail that houses the restaurant. Adjacent to the Petite Crepere is the Old Courthouse Art Center, which can be seen behind our group. The historic Woodstock Square is a wonderful part of the Midwest, alive with artists, and restaurants, shops and the Woodstock Opera House. We always enjoy a well attended artist reception in the many years that we have exhibited here.

Summer Break?

The next three weeks I will not teach classes in my studio. Instead I am working furiosly to complete some mixed media boxes for the Workshop for Contemporary Artist "25th Anniversary Group Show" at the Old Courthouse Art Center in Woodstock. The show runs from August 6 - September 29. The artist reception will be on Saturday September 22, 6:30 pm- 9:00 pm.

I also have several new works due in August for a show titled "Ethereal Fauna, the Artist's Muse" that will exhibit during the month of October for Chicago Artists Month at the Tom Robinson Studio Gallery 2416 W. North Ave. This looks to be a be an exciting collaborative exhibit that challenges a group of Chicago artists to create new works on a common theme. I'm enjoying the change of media and love the collaborative process.

National Exhibition in California

Winter 12"x 36" triptych


Summer 12" x 36" triptych

I just shipped these two paintings to a nationally juried show at the Galeria Tonantzin Center for Arts and Humanities in San Juan Bautista, California. I was very excited to be accepted in this national exhibition.

I love trees and find they are so full of life and change. And like people, no two trees are alike, each one developing their own characteristics over time. The trees represented above are part of a series I painted while working in my Algonquin studio of 71/2 years. The property where my studio was located has since been razed for new development, but the trees represent in these paintings are still standing proud and tall.