Practically growing up on the golf course, Margaret Rose Perenchio has always been athletic, spending most of her leisure time golfing, playing tennis and skiing. As a sports enthusiast she welcomed challenges but as an artist, taking up painting at a late stage in life brought a challenge that was new and unfamiliar. She always loved art, enjoyed visiting museums and collecting great works, but the idea of actually painting on her own felt quite intimidating at the time. Six years later, Margaret Rose Perenchio not only finds herself painting captivating portraits but donates all the proceeds of the sales of her artwork to one of her favorite charities, the Lange Foundation.
After studying the Impressionists and various masters throughout history and by honing her artistic skills and techniques, Margaret Rose began to feel comfortable with her own style. Portraiture became the subject of choice. Her personal challenge was not only to focus on her model’s features, but to dig deeper. She learned to convey their mannerisms, emulate their emotions, experience their experiences and create an insightful depiction of the stories behind the faces.
One portrait in particular, entitled Proud Poppa, is a rare and heartfelt portrayal of the legendary Luciano Pavarotti (a long-time friend) and his child. Margaret takes us into Mr. Pavarotti’s personal world and shows us the endearing and loving side of fatherhood. Through her dramatic juxtaposition of scale in the most natural of settings, the viewer is drawn into the piece by sharing the joy Mr. Pavarotti is experiencing with his child.
“When she asked me to do the picture, I laughed and said okay,” said Pavarotti. “It was a masterpiece. She captured me. I was the proud Poppa!”
Margaret Perenchio’s insightful portrait studies are on display at the Jonathan Kent Gallery in Los Angeles, California. As Kent himself so aptly states, “Margaret has an unusually innate and prolific sense of composition. She is able to capture the person’s entire character without pretense or façade. She paints with her soul. The brush is driven by her soul…not her hands.”
Margaret Rose Perenchio has found her calling. She has come to love painting. It is a passion, a creative outlet that she cherishes. At this point in her life, the satisfaction she receives when completing a work far surpasses her involvement in sports. She now feels a compulsion to paint even when on the golf course. It is both this drive and her extraordinary acts of altruism that demand her attention these days.
“Because I didn’t start painting until I was in my late 40’s, I would encourage anyone entertaining the idea of painting or drawing to go for it,” Margaret Rose urges. “Get started. Most people weren’t born artists. It’s definitely something you can develop…. just like a good forehand (tennis) or golf swing…it takes patience and practice. But the nice thing about painting is you won’t be reaching for that bottle of Advil as often.”
For all the baby boomers out there who are stressed out, burnt out and afraid to start something new, the moral of this story is…sometimes, it’s not what you accomplish at first…but what you accomplish at last.
