This past June I was commissioned by Global Foundries, a newly formed tech company, to paint their chairman, Hector Ruiz, the governor of New York, David Paterson, and our newest president, Barack Obama.

The portraits were presented to Ruiz and Paterson on July 24th at the groundbreaking ceremony for Global Foundries' $4.2 million chip manufacturing facility in Malta, NY.

The event was covered by local media and ran on the front page of the Post Star the next day. The photo caption read, “The portrait of Gov. Paterson was created by commissioned artist Katherine Savage and given to the governor by Global Foundries Chairman Hector Ruiz as a token of appreciation for supporting Global Foundries' arrival to the Capital Region.”

On September 21st, GlobalFoundaries presented Barack Obama with his portrait just before he addressed a crowd of students, faculty, and representatives from the region's growing technology industry at Hudson Valley Community College. Obama's speech praised GlobalFoundries for their involvement in the education of local technology students as well as their role in bringing economic growth to the area.

After the ceremony, a Secret Service officer escorted Obama’s portrait back to the White House.

I am currently working on a series of new paintings in my Philadelphia studio. I’m also enjoying my position as the newest Teaching Fellow at Studio Incamminati.

Thanks for reading and cheers to a prolific fall!

Kate