Wednesday, August 31, 2016

International Competition Winners

Congratulations to our Top Ten award winners in the 18th annual The Art of the Portrait competition. Christine Egnoski recently interviewed these artists asking them about the inspiration behind their award winning work and their individual journey to a career in art.

 



William F. Draper Grand Prize Winner: Michael Klein


My Inspiration
The subject of "NYC Entrepreneur" is a dear friend of mine who does real estate work here in the city.  The idea behind the title to the painting is that Stephen is always busy with a bunch of different projects and he is the perfect example of a 21st century entrepreneur in NYC.

My Path to Art
In my last year of high school I saw an American Artist magazine and there was a John Singer Sargent portrait on the cover, it was a life changing moment for me. Growing up in a small town there were no museums to visit that would have any master paintings, so this one the first time in my life I was exposed to real painting.  Inside the magazine there was an article on contemporary portrait painters including information on the business side of their careers. It inspired me to pursue painting as a full time profession.


First Place Painting: Brooke Olivares

My Inspiration
This painting is part of an ongoing series of works started two years ago, based on my 93-year-old grandmother, Nana.  Most of the paintings about Nana are based on her daily routine in and around her home and the quality moments she spends with my sister in the kitchen, making tortillas and preparing food from the garden. Although Carlotta's mobility is limited to a wheelchair, her mind is not.  In this particular painting I wanted to depict her deep in thought on the couch. 

My Path to Art
I have always loved to draw and paint and was extremely fortunate to have parents who always encouraged me to pursue art. My sister and I both had a love for art at a very early age and they always took us to art classes together and we had each other for support. I had many outstanding art teachers and later enrolled at the Ringling College of Art and Design where I received a BFA in Illustration.  I currently teach there as an adjunct Instructor.

First Place Drawing: Olga Krimon

Inspiration
The boy in my drawing is a son of a family friend and is a portrayal of a relationship between a boy and his dog.  One completing another, one relying on another.  There is that calm trust and complete devotion of an animal, and the security of a boy leaning over him.  This portrait was about experimenting with textures, the softness of the boy’s skin, the fur of the dog, the fabrics of the pillows and the sofa. 

My Path to Art
I trained very hard in Kazan art school for 4 straight years, through many still lifes, plaster casts, art history exams and so on.  But I stopped creating art as soon as I received my diploma – I thought, enough of the still lifes already!  I didn’t know any contemporary artists in Russia, so the prospect of an art career didn’t even cross my mind.  I received my MBA and established a successful career in IT consulting.  It was at that point I realized, art was my singular desire and I worked diligently over the next few years on my technique. I love the very process of creating art, be that a drawing or a painting. I love the fact that the more I learn and work on improving myself, the more I see that I need to reach and the bigger the art world becomes. 


First Place Sculpture: Alicia Ponzio



Inspiration
Portrait study I: Mr. Koch is a study in preparation for a larger two-figure composition I was working on at the time, called the Echo Chamber in which two subjects are engaged in an argument. The composition deals with barriers to communication; and in it, I asked the model, ‘Terry Koch’ to portray a stern, dogmatic nature...to draw on feelings of anger and portray the aggressor in the conversation. 

My Path to Art
As long as I can remember, art has been my main interest; though after high school, I took a different route for various reasons and became a nurse in the United States' Navy.  I gravitated back toward art during my last years in service and began pursuing it more seriously after discharge. When I discovered sculpture, I was overcome with a desire to learn as much as possible and enrolled full time in the Florence Academy of Art sculpture program. Currently, my studio is located in downtown San Francisco and I work mainly in bronze and plaster and continue to develop my work both in portrait and figure.


Second Place: Casey Childs

Inspiration
I was asked to paint Mrs. VanderNaald's portrait but was forewarned that she may be apprehensive about the process.  As soon as she stepped into my studio, I could see she seemed nervous and I mentally prepared for the worst. We chatted for a moment to take both our minds off the task at hand, and while she told me about herself and her family she relaxed into a beautiful pose. The awkwardness was gone and I was able to capture a sweet, sincere moment with her that can only happen between artist and sitter.

My Path to Art
I have loved drawing from an early age, and it was during my first "real" art classes in college when I knew I wanted to become a painter. However, after continuing my education and receiving my BA at Brigham Young University, I was enticed by the notion of a paid profession and took a graphic design job.  I worked in graphic design for 10 years, and now paint professionally full time.  I remain grateful for that design job, as the background and knowledge it yielded helped my work to grow and improve over the years.


Third Place: Adam Vinson

Inspiration
“Social Commentary” was inspired by a trend I noticed in the media of what seemed like a spike in stories regarding violence and firearms. Coupled with a culture of bullying, rampant social networking that encourages a voluntary sacrifice of privacy and a conversation of individual as well as national identity, anger and basic disregard for compassion is what is at heart of the painting. The subject is a self-portrait made-up as a stereotypical “nerd”. The tape painted over the mouth symbolizes silence but the stoic gaze and the BBs lodged in the target represent resilience in the face of adversity. 

My Path to Art
I studied drawing and painting with Anthony Waichulis from 1999-2001 and then at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts until 2005. I’ve been exhibiting since 2000. I have always been interested in all forms of creative expression. There was no great splash that landed me into this as a “career” but rather small steps of curiosity, meeting the right people along the way to help harness that curiosity into a tangible craft, and some great opportunities to reaffirm this pursuit.
 


Fourth Place & People's Choice Award: Rose Frantzen

Inspiration
This work, entitled "Locket" represents a range of contrasting themes including, life, death, youth, aging, future and past. In a way this is about mothers, daughters, daughter's daughters... roots, trees, nests, seeds, life, flowers, decay, eggs, potential, youth... reaching, aging, death and not death.  Life.  Future, past, present to before, fore, after.   What, who is future?  What, who is past?  Is the past here?  Is now a seed, an egg, a future? Held as one, a look at a life,  as in a locket.

My Path to Art
I am from a small town in Iowa, where, in the 80's, before the internet, saying you were going to be an artist had people scratching their heads, a little worried.  I bumbled my way to art school in Chicago, was stirred around and directed toward a career in advertising art.  I followed this guidance, yet, beguiled by the smell of oil paint, I broke with the norm and found a way to split my day between markers and a brush.  I was lucky to have Richard Schmid as a mentor.  I continue to be a student of every passionate, creative maker that crosses my path.  Professionally, I try to represent the values of life-long learning, allowing my work to evolve in unpredictable ways.  

Fifth Place: Jeremy Manyik

Inspiration
The subject is my four year old daughter, Acacia. I believe I have painted her more than any other person. She is always available, and I can pay her with gummy bears! Although she is always an inspiration for me, the motivation behind this particular piece was to do something completely different from my previous paintings of her. My goal was to simplify and create the conditions for a very narrow value range on the subject. This would put the emphasis on subtle changes in temperature and chroma. 

My Path to Art
From the time I could hold a pencil, drawing and creating has been the only thing I ever wanted to do. Growing up, I spent all my time drawing with my twin brother. Toward the end of high school, I started to attend the Artist of America Exhibitions in Denver. There, I attended demonstrations and lectures and met artists that I had only read about. This was an introduction to a whole different art world than the one I knew of in the rural area I lived in. That was the type of art I wanted to do! That ignited the fire in me to keep working and to make each subsequent piece my best.


First Honor Award: Seth Haverkamp

Inspiration
The girl in the painting is of my seven year old, Penelope. She always does interesting hand movements and gestures as she makes her way through daily life. I wanted to try to capture that, as well as a hinting of childish innocence that seven year olds posses. The bird house represents a house, they come and go. The nest is home which is where the heart is. The house is just a place we inhabit; the nest is where we grow into individuals and become who we are. 

My Path to Art
My college years consisted of two different art schools, followed by a BA in Painting from a small liberal arts school in East Tennessee. This is where I decided to abandon illustration and focus on realism. A few years later, I spent an amazing year at Studio Incamminati where I learned what actual painting was. Following that, I moved to northern Virginia and took classes with Rob Liberace.   I have been painting commissioned portraits, teaching, and showing through galleries since 2008. 


Second Honor Award: Aapo Pukk

Inspiration
When I began this self portrait, I decided to paint myself as the artist I aspire to be. From the very start of this painting, I wanted to forget everything I knew about painting portraits, and paint freely from my sub conscious mind without any control and hesitation.  I started the painting with only warm primary colors using them only one at a time and then I introduced transparent, cold primaries to complete the painting. 

My Path to Art
When did I become an artist? It happened when I was born, because when I came into this world my mother took me from the hospital to where she worked to the teachers’ room of the children’s art school, because that was the only home she had. When we got a flat we were still very poor, but we always had pencils, paper, watercolours and a brush ready. According to my mother ,I used to sit on the floor on top of a big sheet of paper and draw all the time, even before I learned how to speak.  Today I am a teacher at the Estonian Academy of Arts and I also organize courses of classic figurative art at the Aapo Pukk Art School.
Awards of Exceptional Merit (alpha order): 
Dominic Avant, Matteo Caloiaro, Rick Casali, Casey Childs, Carla Crawford, Michelle Dunaway, Deon Duncan, Jeffery Hein, Amy Kann, Katie O'Hagan, Pramod Kurlekar, Susan O'Neill, Jim Salvati, Mary Sauer, Adrienne Stein and Dan Thompson. 


Competition Finalists during Gala Banquet Awards Presentation