Archives for Portrait

Transcending the Image

Transcending the Image

February 15, 2019 | by

When John Coleman was 43 years old, he received a phone call that changed his life. That call was from a client, who had asked Coleman to do a construction project for him. Just as work was about to begin, however, the client received a lower bid and was going to use a different vendor. Suddenly, Coleman had three full months with nothing to do. “It was a sign,” he says now. “I knew exactly what I had to do. It was what I had always wanted to do, but I never had time to do it. Now I had
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Bridging Cultures

Bridging Cultures

February 15, 2019 | by

For California artist Mian Situ, 2016 and 2017 were banner years. In 2016, he met, courted, and married Gloria. Their romance began on the Internet and Gloria, a resident of the Yunnan Province in China, was a little reticent, when Situ made his first long-distance overture. Situ, who was familiar with the Yunnan Province from many trips he had taken to the province to garner resource material for his art, felt a kinship with her. Eventually, his knowledge of the area, combined with how much they had in common and proof of who he was as an artist won her
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The Power of Two

The Power of Two

November 15, 2018 | by

When we find someone with whom to share our lives, we are fortunate. When artists do so, they are especially blessed. At least that’s the case with the four artist couples we interviewed for this article. For most of us, we were attracted to our spouses, or significant others, for a variety of reasons: their physical appearance—which might simply be a great smile—their sincerity, sense of humor, intelligence, talent, or kindness. For the artists we talked with, there are other, equally important attributes, including respect for each other’s work and a shared passion for art. Couples Featured: – Sherrie McGraw
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‘Art Must Have Soul’

‘Art Must Have Soul’

November 15, 2018 | by

As an accomplished artist with more than 30 years under his belt, Jove Wang has a theory that presides over his art. Roughly translated, it’s to know what you’re doing so well that you don’t need to be a slave to technique. It’s no understatement to say that Wang knows what he’s doing. Rather than offer up a painting that is merely a rendering, his intention is to involve viewers; he wants to elicit a response with his paintings. “I do not intend to paint extreme realism,” he explains. “I like the myriad variety of edges, as well as the
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Frederic Remington Treasures

Frederic Remington Treasures

September 15, 2018 | by

Few would argue that Frederic Remington is the most well known name in Western art. And yet, not many people realize the full breadth of his career and how much he accomplished during his life, before he died at age 48. That is something the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, hopes to help change. The museum will pay tribute to Remington when it hosts Treasures From the Frederic Remington Art Museum & Beyond from September 8 to January 13, 2019. Described by Seth Hopkins, the museum’s executive director, as “the largest Remington exhibition ever to come to the
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Reaching New Heights

Reaching New Heights

September 15, 2018 | by

Martin Grelle was a very nervous young man when, in 1974, just a year after he graduated from high school, he had his first art show at a gallery and frame shop in Clifton, Texas. “I had no idea what to expect,” he says. “It’s hard to remember, but I probably had, at most, eight or 10 pieces for the show, and we sold almost all of them the first evening. I had a combination of oils, charcoals, and pastels in the show, and the largest piece was probably an oil painting about 24” by 36”. It probably sold for
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Heart and Soul

Heart and Soul

July 15, 2018 | by

Exquisitely detailed and vibrantly personal, the imagery of Denver-based artist Jie Wei Zhou radiates the passion he feels for his subject matter, as he fulfills his mission to preserve the history and traditions of his Chinese homeland—one image at a time. From his earliest days, it was obvious that the young Shanghai native was destined to become an artist. With a sketchbook as his constant companion, the daily entries he made helped him to refine his understanding of form and light. When he was 14, he was one of only a few students singled out to receive individualized instruction at
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The Secret Sauce

The Secret Sauce

July 15, 2018 | by

It was a rainy day in Wisconsin that opened Dan Gerhartz’s eyes to his future career. Gerhartz, who grew up 40 miles north of Milwaukee, loved to be outdoors. As a teenager, he did a lot of hunting and fishing with friends and family in nearby woods. But one rainy day, a friend suggested that they do some drawing instead. “We had some Walker Foster how-to-draw books,” Gerhartz remembers. “That’s how it got started. I found out that I enjoyed it and that I had an aptitude for it.” He entered a few high school competitions, won a couple of
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‘Each Painting is Personal’

‘Each Painting is Personal’

May 15, 2018 | by

In late February, after being out of commission for several months, David Hettinger was back working in his studio, creating the wonderfully executed paintings that have earned him a host of awards, as well as inclusion in collections throughout the world. The reason for that interruption in his schedule was a torn ligament that required surgery and almost three weeks in the hospital, followed by months of recuperation at his home in Aurora, Illinois. That doesn’t mean, however, that Hettinger wasn’t working at his art. He asked fellow artist Walt Gonske and several other artist friends to send him photos
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‘It’s a Calling’

‘It’s a Calling’

May 15, 2018 | by

“Besides painting, I don’t really have any other hobbies. I don’t do anything besides painting,” says Chicago oil painter Mary Qian, when asked what sorts of things she likes to do in her spare time. She seems honestly a little bewildered by the question. Why would she not be painting? Why would she have spare time? What is spare time? Qian leads a clean, streamlined, art-centric existence, spending many of her waking hours at Chicago’s Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, an art space where she makes extensive use of the studios and the models the organization makes available
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