In Conroe, an Afternoon Aboard Titanic, Painted With Coal From the Wreck

CONROE, TX -- Texas artist Dirk Strangely incorporates coal recovered from RMS Titanic into portraits of its passengers and crew. This December, he will unveil a new portrait of Margaret Brown and create an original work before an audience for the first time. The coal was recovered from the wreck site of RMS Titanic during a 1994 expedition by RMS Titanic, Inc. In the hands of Texas artist Dirk Strangely, it is ground into pigment, refined into museum-grade paint, and placed where he believes it belongs: in the eyes of the people who sailed aboard her. On Thursday, December 10, Strangely will bring those portraits to Paulette Café in Historic Downtown Conroe for Souls of the Titanic: 1st Class Afternoon Tea, Music & Art, an intimate gathering limited to just 50 guests. The afternoon will also mark a first for the artist. Before a live audience, Strangely will create an original portrait using a 1912-era metal quill nib dipped in ink containing authenticated Titanic coal. The demonstration will offer guests a rare opportunity to witness the creation of Artifactism™, an artistic genre founded by Strangely in which authenticated historical artifacts become part of the medium of the artwork itself. At the center of the exhibition is Souls of the Titanic, a series of twelve original paintings, still in progress, depicting the real passengers and crew who sailed aboard the ill-fated ocean liner. Each portrait is painted on a page from a 1912 book, Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters, mounted to wood panel, with 24-karat gold leaf accents. The coal recovered from Titanic appears in the pupils of each subject's eyes and in the artist's signature. For tickets, visit https://soulsofthetitanic.com/