The Artist's Life : Portrait Painting

The Eyes Have It

johnandann@theartistsroad — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:44:00 GMT

We can never imagine a world without vision. Whether one works as a realist painter or abstract artist, the quality of our vision determines the ultimate appearance of the art that we make. As viewers of art, we can rarely know or consider if the art we are looking at is meant to be expressive of a particular style, or was produced by an artist with a vision problem or perhaps super-vision. Why would we? We can never see through another person's eyes, only the resulting expressions of their vision, good or bad.


The Rose-Way in Giverny by Claude Monet, oil painting, 1920-22.

Readers of The Artist's Road know that we are always interested in the science of vision and the brain, so when we found the 2009 book by Michael F. Marmor and James G. Ravin titled The Artist's Eyes: Vision and the History of Art, we had to share some of their fascinating research with you. Much has been written about the late oil paintings of some of the Impressionists, especially Degas and Monet, ascribing their increasingly gestural and dark paint-work to an intentional advancement into painterly abstraction, while waving off the evidence that both these artists had serious eye diseases that were progressing.

Degas had fewer problems than Monet, but his macular degeneration caused him to gradually lose sharpness of detail. This did not affect his colors, but as time went by, his lack of sharp vision led to his figures and portrait paintings becoming more impressionistic and his strokes coarser. Eventually, he could not make out facial features at all. By the turn of the century, Degas' visual acuity had fallen into the range of 20/200 to 20/400. This means that something 20 feet away appeared to him with the sharpness of an object 200 to 400 feet away.

By 1922, Monet's acuity had also fallen to 20/200 in his good eye, but he also had cataracts, of which he complained publicly. As the cataracts worsened, he could not perceive colors or values well, and his increasingly yellow-brown lenses led him to try to compensate by using ever more intense blues and reds. Finally, he resorted to reading the colors off the tubes and painting out of habit. He destroyed many of these paintings in frustration.


		Nympheas reflets de saule by Claude Monet, oil painting, 1916-19.

It is interesting to realize that if he was pleased by what he saw, then we (with normal vision) are not seeing what he intended. Although cataract surgery became available in the early 1900s, it was not reliable and did not always work. Monet delayed having surgery, perhaps put off by the unsuccessful surgeries of Mary Cassatt, who stopped painting after the second failed surgery blinded her. By 1923, Monet had one eye corrected, and his colors and detail came vividly back to life, allowing him to complete the large waterlilies for the Orangerie Museum installation.

How fortunate we are to live in a time when many of the eye diseases that plagued artists are more easily treatable and sometimes even reversed. In a real sense, advances in medical science walk hand-in-hand with advances in art, allowing mature artists to remain productive throughout their lives.

Please join us on The Artist's Road for more interesting and informative articles.

--John and Ann

A Little Good News

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:14:00 GMT

In a time when we often hear the arts being dismissed as unnecessary luxuries and when so many art classes in schools have been cut, it's nice to hear a little good news.


Portrait of Claude Renoir Painting by Renoir, 1907, oil on canvas.

A recent federal study of research data on the effectiveness of arts education shows, "When students participate in the arts they are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, have higher GPA/SAT scores, and demonstrate a 56 percent improvement in spatial-temporal IQ scores. They show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12, are more engaged and cooperate with teachers and peers, and are more self-confident and better able to express their ideas." The study found that these benefits are most pronounced in high-poverty, low-performing students and that these high-poverty students are being "disproportionately short-changed on arts education opportunities in their schools."

The good news comes from a small pilot program called the Turnaround Arts initiative. Taking the news from these studies seriously, a two-year public-private partnership has been developed between the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, the Herb Alpert Foundation, Crayola, NAMM Foundation, the Aspen Institute, Booz Allen Hamilton and the National Endowment for the Arts to bring training and resources to eight participating schools that have been nominated and selected based on need, opportunity, strong school leadership and a commitment to arts education.

We first became aware of the program from a New York Times article published on December 18th, 2012, which followed 40 seventh and eighth grade students from the Roosevelt School of Bridgeport, Connecticut on their private tour with artist Chuck Close of his exhibition at the Pace Gallery in Manhattan. The Roosevelt School is one of the eight schools in the Turnaround Arts experiment.

Close is most known for his seemingly photo-realistic portrait paintings created from a grid of squares, each filled with color strokes creating a perceived average hue and tone that, when viewed from a distance pull together to create the realistic image. Chuck Close suffers from what is referred to as "face blindness" (prosopagnosia), a disorder in which the ability to recognize faces is impaired, while other aspects of visual processing remain intact. He told the students that the only way he could remember a face is to break it down into tiny pieces similar to the squares that make up his artwork. He said, "Everything about my work is driven by my learning disabilities."

The Turnaround Arts initiative is providing high-profile mentors to help the schools within its program. We look forward to the follow-up evaluations of this preliminary two-year experimental project and hope that it may be continued and expanded to inspire many more students. As Chuck Close told the students at his exhibition, "Art saved my life."

For more interesting and informative articles, please join us on The Artist's Road.

--John & Ann

My Secrets to Financial Success as an Artist

ShenShen210 — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:21:00 GMT

I am writing this as things have never looked better for me financially, as an artist. I have had a few huge sales and wildly successful shows over the years, but I feel as if I have tapped into a new realm of possibilities in recent months. And this in a time of financial hardship for many across the globe. I want to pass on a few things I have learned about art and business in my almost thirty years of experience. And, yes, it starts with admitting that the old adage is true--you must love the art more than food. I remember many years of my family eating little other than beans and rice while I tried to get my art business going!


Portrait painting of a saxophone player by Shen, titled Blue Bird.

1. Relationship. Get yourself out there. You must get out of the studio and meet people for them to ever come to know and appreciate your work. Your art is a reflection of who you are. So, if they meet you, and actually like you, they want to have a piece of you, and for us that means a token of who we are--our art. Think of it another way--when you visit a wonderful city like San Francisco, you buy a little snow globe with the Golden Gate Bridge in it to commemorate your visit...even though it doesn't snow in San Francisco, but that's another issue!

The people you meet are the most important "press releases" you can ever have published. They love a piece of work and tell their friends, and so on and so on. But remember, the deeper and more positive experience they have with you, the more interested they will be about sharing your story with others. So this comes back to being our best selves. I, for one, believe that the days of the "obscure, flippant, know-it-all" artist are long gone.

2. Go where the money is. A stranger I met at an airport last year who quickly became a dear friend gave me some very wise words of wisdom. He told me, "It is just as easy to make friends with rich people as it is to make friends with poor people." This statement stopped me in my tracks. I started evaluating where and whom I hung out with in a casual atmosphere. My real friends will never change and I couldn't care less how much money they have because they are as close to me as my own heart. But I am speaking of placing myself in environments where I might make new friends. So I started venturing out to areas where the rich and famous hang out. Guess what? My friend was right! Just as easy! And I came to realize that for years and years I had been intimidated by the wealthy. Not a good thing for an artist wishing to sell work. It took a bit of time, but I started to feel as comfortable mingling with my new friends just as I did with my friends from the other side of the tracks.

3. Shameless self-promotion. Did I mention how crucial it is to get yourself out there? And...for me...this also means dancing! This past weekend I showed my work at a music festival, and while many of the attendees were sitting in their chairs (Okay, all of the attendees!), I was at my eye-catching booth displaying my art, doing a painting demo and, yes, dancing! Now, if this is not who you are, please spare us all the discomfort of watching you not be able to find the beat. But for me, dancing is my thaaaaaaang, especially to live music! Many onlookers came up later and told me how much they enjoyed my show, and some even bought art! Do your thaaaaang, and you'd be surprised at how easy it is to draw people to you.


A portrait painting by Shen, titled Hendrix.		A portrait painting by Shen, titled Billie Holiday.

4. And don't ever hesitate to strike while the iron is hot. I have been featured in the local newspaper in my town, which is a pretty affluent one, almost a dozen times since moving here about a year ago. Every time something exciting happens, I call the arts editor because I've made a point of having a relationship with them. In one particular situation, I used a high-profile model that many of the people in the area know for a painting demonstration. Immediately there is a connection point when I meet new faces: "Oh, that's her, I love her!!! How do you know her?" Any seed of commonality can get a conversation started. It is up to us to ride it out into an actual relationship. Being shy is cute for kids, but detrimental to the livelihood of an artist.

Last year, while speaking with two very influential art reps in a Chelsea, NY gallery, a man who looked like a reggae musician walked up us. I told him that I would love to paint him (he had a great look). After he walked away, one of the reps told a story of how a relatively unknown artist walked up to Wall Street executives on their lunch hour and suggested portrait painting their loved ones just as the man had just come up to us. The artist did very well for himself after this point because he had the gumption to put himself out there. He may have had to eat soup while doing these commissions, but that is part of the process. I know I've been there!

I hope these tips help you to fully become the artist you were meant to be, in each and every way! Cheers to you and me for hanging in there on this long and windy road!

--Shen

A Few of My Favorite Things

Allison Malafronte — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 03:35:00 GMT

A couple of weeks ago I spent a rainy Sunday cleaning out clutter—one of my least favorite things to do, but something I am always infinitely grateful for when it's complete. I cleaned out bookshelves, closets, storage bins, and shelves full of the many things I've amassed over the years and felt light as a feather, organizationally speaking, when I was finished.


Kirk Douglas was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh in this 1956 film adaptation of Irving Stone's novel Lust for Life.

I did notice as I was decluttering that almost nothing art-related hit the trash bin. That's probably because I am constantly in need of reference material, and I want to make sure I have everything I might need when the muse strikes. As I organized and resituated my surroundings, I took stock of a few of my favorite things that keep the artistic inspiration flowing:

ART BOOKS: I have a variety of art books on my shelf, but some of my favorites include a book of Russian portraiture (imported from China) that has more than 200 full-page reproductions of both well-known and obscure Russian artists; and The Impressionists at Home (Thames and Hudson, New York, New York), which features interior paintings from some of my favorite Impressionists and early modernists (including Degas, Vuillard, and Bonnard), as well several black-and-white photos of the artists in their studios and homes.

ART MOVIES: I collect movies on DVD, and the "art" movies are really starting to pile up—The Agony and the Ecstasy, Lust for Life, Portrait of Jennie, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Modigliani, and Caravaggio are some of my favorites. (Midnight in Paris is right up there too, even though it's not entirely about art.)


	This book published by Thames & Hudson with text by Pamela Todd features interior scenes from such artists as Manet, Pissaro, Degas, Vuillard, Bonnard.

MUSIC: My musical taste ranges from classical to contemporary dance, hitting just about everything in between, but when I'm writing I love to listen to Bach, Rachmaninoff, or Beethoven. One of my favorite CDs that I listen to on repeat when I'm writing is Joshua Bell's Voice of the Violin, which contains lots of my classical favorites played by one of the today's most accomplished violinists.

WRITING: As I writer, the only thing taking up more space than art books on my bookshelf is literature, poetry, and novels. In addition to classic literature, I also really enjoy reading art philosophy and works by contemporary art critics. A publication sitting at the top of my art-magazine pile right now is New York Magazine's "How to Make It in the Art World" issue, which has some very interesting ideas about the changes taking place in the modern art market.

What are a few of your favorite things around your studio that keep you inspired? Leave a comment, and let me know!

--Allison

Allison Malafronte is the senior editor of American Artist.

Get Really Close--No One's Going to Call Security

bberlin — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 03:45:00 GMT

What was that beautiful work I saw at the Met? Which room was Sargent's portrait painting, Madame X, in? I loved that Renoir but didn't have time to go back and spend a little more time with that work and that work alone. How do I answer these questions? Simply, Google Art Project.

Google Art Project is a great way to explore the oil paintings, drawings, sculptures, and more that are in museums all over the world.

Last month Google unveiled it's second iteration of the project, offering more than 32,000 works of art from museums all over the world. I think it is a fantastic way to explore museums without having to pay for a flight, hotel, and endure a trip through TSA security. Places like the Met, the Musee d'Orsay, and the Museum of Fine Art in Boston are all included. The features are incredible. Have you always wanted to go to the Uffizi? Stroll the halls with the Google Art Project's "Museum View," and you see the museum like you would with Google's "Street View."

In my digital exploration of the Met using this feature I was amazed to see how much smaller David's oil painting, The Death of Socrates, than I had imaged it to be once I saw it placed within the museum. I viewed many of Sargent's great portraiture (including one housed in the White House) from around the world.

Each image of a fine art painting or sculpture is captured in a resolution so high that you can zoom in closer than you'd ever be able to at the museum, and see all the detailed brushwork it took to create that piece of art without security being called in because you've gotten too close or you having to rush by because museum hours ending. And if you've found a collection you wish you could have in your very own home, you can create your own collection of works through Google Art Project called My Galleries. This is quite nice for putting together an inspiration gallery of your own.

You can create galleries of a single artist or of works you love from all over the world.

In addition to your own online art gallery, you can check out a host of other galleries that other people all over the world have created. For instance, I found a fantastic collection of French work from artists including Manet, Monet, and Degas that a user just like me created. It was so inspiring!

The entire interface of the Google Art Project is very slick, so you should have a pretty easy time navigating it. Take a look if you haven't already, and tell us what your favorite works were in the comments below. And if you create a gallery, let us know what works made the cut and include a link to it!

--Ben

Ben Berlin is the video producer for American Artist magazine.

A Small Price to Pay for a Life Lived Fully

ShenShen210 — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:53:00 GMT

As an artist, I often feel that I am more sensitive than others, or perhaps I am more in touch because I need to be so that my work will flow genuinely from my heart and allow me to respond from a deeper place. That is one of the reasons that I faced my fear and started painting in front of large crowds of people, culminating last week at my sweet twenty year old "nephew" Ryan's funeral. He died living his passion, rock climbing. As soon as I heard of his death, I knew what I had to do, although I did resist the thought for about a day. There were around a thousand people who were going to watch my memorial painting come to life at the service. All grieving. I asked God for the strength and ability to do this, and do it well.


Memorial portrait painting of Ryan Thomas Wahl by Shen.

The painting was so scary for me because I did not rely on a projector to project a photo of Ryan onto the canvas as I have done for many years in the past with great success. I have tried to keep my drawing skills up to speed, often making drawings and projecting those instead. Many artists feel that working in the latter manner is more pure but I say do whatever works for you. I do my thing, you do yours. Just try to be authentic and keep growing through the journey. With that in mind, I felt like more of my perception of Ryan would be seen if I drew him from my heart instead of with a projected image of him, though I did look at a photo for reference.

I felt like painting raw, slapping on the paint, especially after I heard my friend (who has been more like a sister to me) weep when she viewed her beautiful son's body in the casket. So I did, with a bit of reckless abandon--but not too much. I need to keep a certain level of control to do justice to this homage that was coming together before everyone's eyes.

Every time I turned around, the crowd of people who loved and wanted to celebrate Ryan's life grew. I felt like people were counting on me, and a bit of pressure built up. But I just had to trust and let the outcome go. Trust that the years of drawing experiments and sketchbook exercises and explorations taught me something. Trust that I didn't need to actually see the color wheel that I usually carry with me almost everywhere I go and had forgotten in my packing rush because I could see it in my mind. Trust that my vision would reflect Ryan, his faith, and his love for the natural and outdoors. And most of all trust that people would be touched even if I blew it--because I was really nervous about finishing on time. I only had three hours and the piece was 3 x 4 feet, which is a pretty large piece for me.

Turns out I didn't finish it on time but after the burial I came back to the church to finish it up. It wasn't exactly what I had in my mind when I began, but I just let it come naturally, and I'm inspired by the end result. It was the most difficult and important painting that I have ever attempted, and after having heard reports that the painting brought many people joy and comfort--and knowing that the painting hangs in the home of his parents and siblings to always remind them of his incredible spirit, passion, and purpose--I know it was worth the effort. But what I didn't realize was that I would have the chance to grow and learn from the process as well.

Art has the ability to help people see things in an entirely different way. That is a true gift that I can give to myself and to the world around me in the only way that I can. And here is a quote that I would have included in Ryan's painting if I had heard it sooner by the famous mountaineer Willy Unsel:

Death is a small price to pay for a life lived fully.

In loving memory of Ryan Thomas Wahl.

--Shen

Shen loves making the flat surface of a painting or drawing come to life. A professional artist and entrepreneur for more than 25 years, she lives to discover new techniques, mix media, and make difficult concepts simple! You will often find her painting live at events of all kinds to "wow" her audience. Her work has been collected by celebrities, corporations, and galleries spanning the globe. She is also an art instructor and keynote speaker, speaking to artists about how to market themselves in new, fun, and creative ways. Shen lives in Vail, Colorado, with her husband and three beautiful daughters. More of Shen's work may be viewed on her website.

It's Not What You Know--It's Who You Know

Brian Riley — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:26:00 GMT

I've come to realize that that old saying "It's not always what you know, but who you know," is spot on. Even at American Artist magazine. Luckily, "we" know a lot of people, and as a result we have remarkable access to some of the greatest artists and works of art out there. And that's not even counting the dozens of emails I receive each day inviting me to openings at galleries and museums throughout the country.


		Studio Incamminati's program, Face to Face, brings children with craniofacial conditions and artists together for portrait painting sessions with the goal of inspiring the kids to love themselves just as they are.

Really, as an art lover, there's not much to complain about. I have a fairly unique opportunity to interact with some of the most important art-makers working today. Considering that, it may be surprising to learn that the opportunity to see some of the most impactful artwork I've ever encountered has come, not through my connections at American Artist magazine, but through my connections at home.

My wife works in the healthcare industry, and several times over the past few years, she's brought to my attention a disease foundation or support group using artwork or teaching art techniques to help bring awareness to their cause; help fund raise; or help patients deal with their often debilitating illnesses.


This acrylic painting--titled Smile--was created by Riley Ellenberger, a 10-year old suffering from Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to form in vital organs throughout the body. He created this painting for the "Art for a Cure" exhibition put together by the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. He called his painting Smile, because, as he says, "No matter what comes my way, I smile."

Art shows and auctions are the most common examples, and in many of the cases, the artists are children. As part of their treatment or recovery, they create art to help express how their illness makes them feel, or show that they have hope that they will get better. I'm sure no one would claim that they possessed master-level oil painting techniques or know how to draw with professional skill, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone claiming their artwork was any less of a masterpiece.

It's stuff like this that keeps me passionate about art, even after working at the magazine for nearly a decade. It's, maybe, the best example of the impact art can have on someone's life. If a 10-year old dealing with something like Tuberous Sclerosis Complex can't inspire you by painting a smile, because that's how he's decided to face his illness, then I don't know what would.

--Brian

Brian Riley

Managing Editor, American Artist magazine

Man's Best Friend Is Art's Best Friend Too?

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:44:00 GMT

We have always felt that as plein air painters we are observers of the landscape—recording moments and places that can rapidly transform with fleeting changes of light. In a pure landscape, figures and animals are rendered small and insignificant against the vast and awe inspiring backdrop of nature.


At the Inn of Mother Anthony by Renoir, 1866, oil on canvas.		The Artist (Portrait of Gilbert Marcellin Desboutin) by Edouard Manet, 1875, oil painting.		Young Woman Holding a Dog in Her Arms by Berthe Morisot, 1892, pastel painting.

In our portrait art and still life painting work, however, we are observers of the intimate—the interior worlds of home and studio. Here, the figure, the object, the people, and the animals that inhabit these spaces become the dominant focus, and we attempt to lift these interior portraits up to the grand level of a landscape. Finding and expressing a connection with those people, objects and animals is essential to the expressive power and ultimately, success, of these works.


	In the Summer Garden by John Hulsey, pastel painting.

The rule is simple: paint what you know and love. And so we paint our beloved animal companions—our studio dogs. Not only are they patient and generally serene models, but they also possess a dignity and acceptance of life that we would do well to try to emulate. As time winds down for our second Great Pyrenees, we have found it important to take our paints in hand and work to catch at least a glimpse of his internal grace and loving spirit in our works. In this way we hope to honor his life and perhaps pay homage to all the dogs who have spent their lives helping their human charges making it through theirs.

There is beautiful evidence from Renoir, Morisot, Cassatt and others, that we are not alone in our canine devotions. In the era of Impressionism, dogs began to be included more often in portraits with families and not just depicted as working animals. In some of these paintings, the dog is the only figure directly looking at the viewer, acknowledging the outside world, as it were, while his human companions are rendered as oblivious to the painter and viewer. The dog observes the observer.

Science tells us that a few minutes of petting a dog results in the release of oxytocin into the bloodstream of both the petter and the pettee, lowering blood pressure and stress. It is our firm belief that taking the time to study and paint a dog does the same ten-fold! Of course, getting them to hold still is the trick!

Please visit us at The Artist's Road for more great articles on painting your life!

--John & Ann

Why I Workshop

Michael Gormley — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:39:00 GMT


We spent a lot of painting time along the cliffs outside San Juan.

Painting can be a pretty isolating affair, and though I love the alone time spent with my muse, I miss the collective energy that working in a group of like-minded colleagues provides. I also want to get better at painting, and though I'm certainly evolving as an artist, that learning process is a pretty steep climb and going it alone can be murder. Then it dawned on me that going it alone is a choice--and frankly not the best one for me right now.

We learn better with others around us because we feel safe--and if we feel safe we're likely to take risks. True learning requires that we let go of perfection---we must stretch our boundaries, leave our comfort zone, allow ourselves to experiment, and even make mistakes. I don't know about you, but I prefer to have some trusted friends, and a dedicated mentor, nearby once I summon the courage to cross the threshold into the unknown and untried.


	The courtyards of the inn kept us fully immersed in nature.

The opportunity to take such a leap presented itself to me a few months ago when I received an invite from Teresa Spinner to attend a plein air painting workshop she was putting together with Judith Carducci. Spinner is a portrait artist and owner of Signilar Art Video, which has been producing high quality instructional videos of today's master artists since 1989. Carducci is likewise a respected portraitist and a seasoned instructor.

The workshop was to be held in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the Gallery Inn--which is owned and operated by Jan D'Esopo--Spinner's sister. D'Esopo, an accomplished watercolorist and sculptor, has lived on the property for close to fifty years. Though the house was little more than a royal wreck when she first acquired it, D'Esopo had the vision to transform it, and subsequent adjacent properties, into a magical kingdom replete with planted grottoes, shimmering fountains, and fancy dress dining halls. Now a rustic Spanish castle filled with fine art and period furnishings, it rises majestically atop a high bluff overlooking the fortifications of Old San Juan and the endless sea beyond. Without question the perfect setting for a painting party.

And indeed it was. Spinner and Carducci scouted out landscape sites in advance--though I would have been perfectly content to paint the Inn and its lush courtyards. Old San Juan is a treasure trove of the picturesque--breathtaking natural vistas and compelling architectural forms were to be had at every corner. Our days commenced at dawn as we rushed to the breakers to paint the sun as it crept up over the horizon and bathed the bluffs and forts in a surreal and heavenly light. Group critiques were held over a mid-morning breakfast--freshly prepared omelets and café-con-leche eased the embarrassment of displaying and talking about our still-wet paintings, which never seemed quite up to our hopes and expectations.




Night painting in and around Old San Juan was an atmospheric, moody, and all around exhilarating experience.

We set out again in the afternoon to find the perfect spot that begged to be painted. Open air painting in the tropics is a challenge--squalls are a constant--but then again so are the rainbows. Coming back indoors in the late afternoon, we painted each other, the hotel staff, and for that matter anything that stood still. Carducci was an ever-present and energetic cheerleader, making the rounds to the workshop participants and ever ready to share her encyclopedic grasp of picture making. Demoing throughout the five-day workshop, Carducci's light-filled landscape paintings were an inspiration; and her nocturnes magical in their economy of line, compositional force, and striking play of color.

In three days I became unrecognizable to myself--transformed into something and someone else. "I" the artist, meaning "I" in the sense of the almighty "I", slipped away and in its stead I became an earnest seeker among fellow earnest seekers striving to channel the sights, sounds and smells of life in Old San Juan into sensitive and spirited works of art. I like to think that we succeeded.

If you'd like to see if you might have the same kind of transformational experience in a workshop, be sure to watch out for the March/April issue of American Artist. It is our 75th anniversary issue and comes with our annual workshop and art school directory.

--Michael

Michael Gormley is the editorial director of American Artist magazine.

May I Introduce Rose Frantzen?

Courtney Jordan — Sun, 01 May 2011 07:15:00 GMT


Up the Block by Rose Frantzen, oil painting, 40 x 50.

Rose Frantzen: Weekend With the Masters Instructor

Rose Frantzen's peers hold her in especially high regard as an artist's artist. In her 25 years as a full-time painter, she has also gained the attention and respect of both national and international collectors. Her community project, Portrait of Maquoketa, which is comprised of 180 portraits of her townspeople that she painted during impromptu portraiture sessions during the span of one year, was exhibited at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, in Washington DC, from November 2009 until July 2010. The project is also the subject of a hardbound book that was created as a catalogue of sorts to accompany the exhibition.

Frantzen attended the American Academy of Art, in Chicago, where she worked and studied with Robert Krajecki; the Palette & Chisel Academy, alongside her mentor Richard Schmid; and the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, studying human anatomy with the late Dean Keller.

Trained in the alla prima style, she explores painting as a language for witnessing and communicating the wide-range of human experience and sometimes finds it necessary to employ other representational approaches including glazing methods with imprimatura or grisaille.

Her exploratory nature has also led her to create many multi-dimensional works in which she incorporates diverse stylistic elements and mixed media assemblage items such as gilding, stained glass, and mosaic.

Frantzen's work has been featured in numerous publications including American Artist, Workshop, International Artist, Southwest Art, US Art, ArtTalk, and Portrait Signature magazines, and she has demonstrated as a faculty member for the Portrait Society of America. She is a much sought after instructor teaching workshops in several regions of the country as well as in her studio.

With husband and fellow artist, Charles Morris, she currently resides in her hometown of Maquoketa, Iowa. Both are represented by Old City Hall Gallery. For more information on Frantzen, visit her gallery's website or buy her latest art instructional DVD.

Return to the Weekend with the Masters Meet & Greet.

May I Introduce Stephen Early?

Courtney Jordan — Sun, 01 May 2011 06:28:00 GMT


Glass Study 3 by Stephen Early, oil painting on masonite, 7 x 5.

Stephen Early: Weekend With the Masters Instructor

Artist Stephen Early began his art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He has received many notable portrait painting commissions from the likes of Richard Carlin, Henry Siegel (the founder of Sea Gull Lighting Company), and the Honorable Judge William Hart Rufe II, among others. He was the recipient of a Certificate of Excellence at the Portrait Society of America's 2008 and 2010 Portrait Competitions.

Early is a Studio Incamminati teaching fellow who joined the school in 2002 at its inception and has served as principal instructor in Nelson Shanks' Intensive and Advanced Painting Workshops at Studio Incamminati. He has also taught workshops at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and at the New York Academy of Fine Arts Workshop, among others.

He also served as Shanks' teaching assistant at the Art Students League of New York. Previously, he worked as an illustrator after receiving his A.S. degree in commercial art from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. He completed additional studies at the Art Students League of New York and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, in Philadelphia.

He has exhibited his work at the Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona; The Gratz Gallery and Conservation Studio in Doylestown, PA; in the Forbes Magazine Gallery in New York City; and the Union League of Philadelphia, among others. His work has received media coverage in the following publications as well: American Painter Video Magazine, spring 2011 edition; the book, Star Wars Vision by J.W Rinzler and George Lucas, which was published in 2010; and American Artist magazine, March 2007, among others.

Early has also established a workshop practice across the country, giving classes in figure painting and form painting at The Torpedo Factory Art League in Alexandria, VA, and the Queens Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, among others. For more information about Early, visit his website.

Return to the Weekend With the Masters Meet & Greet.

May I Introduce Scott Waddell?

Courtney Jordan — Sun, 01 May 2011 06:15:00 GMT


The Den by Scott Waddell, oil painting, 20 x 16.

Scott Waddell: Weekend With the Masters Instructor

Scott Waddell was born and raised in Central Florida. He received his B.F.A. from Florida State University. After college, Waddell spent the next several years studying classical painting at The Florence Academy of Art and the Water Street Atelier under Jacob Collins.

In 2006 Scott moved with his wife to Connecticut, where they continue to reside with their son and many pets. Waddell divides his time between painting portraits, fine-art narratives, and teaching at The Grand Central Academy of Art.

He also teaches workshops at various art institutions throughout the country. His interest in color and its application has always been driven by the concepts he uses to interpret and model form. He believes it is the understanding of what's physically happening in the environment around us that keeps us out of the wilderness of bizarre coloration. It also let's us follow a logic that is relational and not necessarily dependent on the optical. Waddell finds this very liberating artistically.

As far as the colors on his palette, Waddell tries to have highly chromatic representatives of each part of the color wheel so that he can maximize his mixing range. On an average day, he has Titanium White, Yellow Ochre (as my low chromatic yellow), Cadmium Yellow (as my high chromatic yellow), Cadmium Orange (high chroma), Cad Red (high chroma), Alizarin Crimson, a couple flesh tones (tubed or pre-mixed) as short cuts (bear in mind, these are clearly recognized as low chroma, particular values of a given hue--not blindly as a flesh tone to be used necessarily in the painting of flesh), Burnt Umber, Raw Umber and Ivory Black. Were Waddell to paint something that had a local blue, green or violet hue, he would undoubtedly have a high chroma representative of that particular hue on his palette. For more information about Waddell's fine art painting and practice, visit his website.

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May I Introduce Nelson Shanks?

Courtney Jordan — Sun, 01 May 2011 05:35:00 GMT


Portrait of His Holiness, John Paul II by Nelson Shanks, 2001, oil painting on canvas, 54 x 50.

Nelson Shanks: Weekend With the Masters Instructor

One of the most sought after teachers and portrait painters in the world and founder of the post-graduate school Studio Incamminati, Nelson Shanks has taught on the faculty of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Art Students League of New York, the National Academy of Design, The George Washington University, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, among others.

Among his notable portrait commissions are President William Jefferson Clinton; Diana, Princess of Wales and Charles, Lord Spencer; and His Holiness Pope John Paul II. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, including the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC; the Royal Palace, in Stockholm; Kensington Palace, in London; and Fortezza Firmafede, in Sarzana, Italy.

In the late 1990s, Nelson launched a successful series of workshops in response to the growing need for serious art instruction. The need for students to immerse themselves deeply in his teaching principles was made clear by the high demand and extensive oversubscriptions to these workshops, which led to the decision to open a full time atelier program, aptly named Studio Incamminati, which can be translated from Italian as "those who are progressing". Nelson sacrifices painting time to teach at Studio Incamminati as part of his total commitment to changing the world's view of art.

He is richly rewarded by pride in his students' progress and the presence of remarkable people who are attracted to this cause, willing to pledge and devote time in sincere measure.

An upcoming major solo exhibition will be held at the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg and Russian Academy of Art, Moscow in 2011. In 2006, Nelson received the Governor's Distinguished Arts Award, which recognizes a Pennsylvania artist of international fame or renown whose creations and contributions enrich the commonwealth. Among those contributions noted were his lifelong commitment to teaching and his establishment of Studio Incamminati. For more information, visit his website.

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May I Introduce Dan Thompson?

Courtney Jordan — Sun, 01 May 2011 05:29:00 GMT


Persian Archer by Dan Thompson, 18 x 28, oil painting, 2004.

Dan Thompson: Weekend With the Masters Instructor

Dan Thompson was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated from the Corcoran School of Art, in Washington, DC. He earned his M.F.A. from the Graduate School of Figurative Art at the New York Academy of Art, and supplemented his training with several additional years of private study and studio apprenticeships on the East Coast.

In 2006 Thompson co-founded the Grand Central Academy of Art and in 2008 he co-founded the Janus Collaborative School of Art, both in New York City. Thompson has also instructed privately at Studio 126, in New York City, and is on the faculty of Parsons the New School for Design, The New York Academy of Art, The Art Students League of New York, and Studio Incamminati, in Philadelphia.

He has demonstrated and taught workshops in San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Washington, D.C, and Sarasota, FL. He has also demonstrated and instructed internationally in Toronto, Canada, Subiaco, Italy, and in the Provence region of France. In 2007 he was selected an ARC Living Master Artist.

Thompson has been awarded two grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and has twice received the Ethel Lorraine Bernstein Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting from the Corcoran College of Art and Design. In 2001, Thompson won Best of Show in the American Society of Portrait Artists' International Portrait Competition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.

Since 2002 Thompson has demonstrated portrait painting and drawing, and served as a juror and board member for the Portrait Society of Canada's International Portrait Conference in Toronto. He has also lectured at the Dahesh Museum of Art, served as a speaker at Studio Incamminati's Advanced Portrait Workshop and Symposium, and written on technique and painting practice for several art publications across the United States.

His work can be found in public and private collections throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. For more information on Thompson, visit his website.

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May I Introduce Rob Liberace?

Courtney Jordan — Sun, 01 May 2011 05:03:00 GMT


Figure Throwing Ball by Rob Liberace, chalk drawing on paper, 24 x 36.

Rob Liberace: Weekend With the Masters Instructor

Robert Liberace is considered by many to be a contemporary classicist, equally accomplished in sculpture, drawing, and painting and working in various media, including clay, graphite, chalk, pen-and-ink, watercolor, and oil. His work is inspired by the centuries of knowledge, skill, and elegance of the Old Masters.

Liberace is perhaps best known for his classic and distinctive style of figure drawing, and his drawings and instructional technique have been featured in American Artist and Workshop magazines, International Artist magazine, The Artist's Magazine, and in a forthcoming book focused on his contemporary approach for creating Old Master-style drawings.

As a sculptor, Liberace has been selected as a professional member of the National Sculpture Society and has received many important commissions, including a 15-foot crucifix that now hangs above the alter in Our Lady of Mercy Church, in Potomac, Maryland.

As a portraitist, Liberace received the Portrait Society of America's Grand Prize Award in their International Portrait Competition in April 2003. In 2002 he placed Best of Show. Liberace received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from George Washington University.

Rob is known for his inspiring and informative teaching style. He teaches at The Art League of Virginia and holds workshops throughout the United States and abroad. American Artist's Workshop Magazine featured one of Rob's Ireland workshops in their Spring 2006 issue. They also published an article about him in the Summer 2009 issue of the same magazine. Rob pioneered one of the first online teaching courses for American Artist Magazine, which included live webinars and critiques. He also teaches for the annual "Weekend with the Masters" workshops. He has filmed a series of tutorial DVDs on painting and drawing as well.

He teaches sculpture, painting, anatomy, and figure drawing at The Art League of Virginia as well as in workshops throughout the United States and abroad. The artist is represented by Arcadia Gallery, in New York City, John Pence Gallery, in San Francisco, and the M Gallery, in Sarasota. He lives in Venna, Virginia, with his wife and their two daughters.

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