Ryan Auctions Painting to Benefit Jami Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship

By schwartzsa | February 28, 2012

Visiting Assistant Professor of Art and Design Abbey Ryan ’03 produced her daily oil painting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in front of a live audience in Grey Towers Castle. The demo and Q-and-A session drew more than 320 online visitors during the event, and since then, nearly 300 have viewed the archived video. (Watch the complete demo and Q-and-A.) Ryan’s live demo painting, Still Life with Silver Creamer, is being auctioned off with all proceeds to benefit the Jami Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship at Arcadia.

Still Life with Silver Creamer will be sold by eBay auction with a starting price of $99 (no reserve). The auction began Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. EST and will end on Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. EST. Visit the auction web page.

Anyone may donate a gift towards the scholarship to remember and honor Jami Rodriguez ’00. (Donate online.) Jami was active in student life and community service, and became friends with Ryan as Fine Art students and members of Arcadia’s Student Alumni Association (SAA). She was active in student life and community service, and became friends with Ryan as a Fine Art student and member of Arcadia’s Student Alumni Association (SAA).

“I remember Jami as a magnetic friend and an amazing artist and I’d like to raise awareness about this Scholarship to honor Jami and her legacy of community service, artistic creativity, and love for Beaver College,” says Ryan. “I think it is so important for alumni and the larger Arcadia community to remember Jami’s legacy—as well as each and every unique Arcadia and Beaver alumni story.”

Best known for her “Abbey Ryan: Painting a Day” website, Ryan has been featured in the O, the Oprah Magazine’s column “Women Who Make Beautiful Things,” in Seth Godin’s bestseller Linchpin and in Brainard Carey’s new book Making It in the Art World. Ryan’s alla prima daily oil painting practice is inspired by Italian and Dutch masters she studied in Europe. Her formal art training includes undergraduate and graduate work at Arcadia University, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Hunter College and the Art Students League of New York, as well as work at Stanford University.

For available oil and ink paintings, visit abbeyryan.com or ryanstudio.blogspot.com.