January 2014
New ARC Living Artist™ Carol Lee Thompson
January 30, 2014
| Carol Lee Thompson is a classical realist trained in the methods of the Old Masters. She is a full-time professional artist residing in her native Maryland but travels extensively to paint and further her education. Carol Lee paints a wide range of subject matter including figurative, landscape, equine and Western themes. She is featured in galleries throughout the country. Her work is part of many corporate and private collections including the Butler Institute of Art and Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland. Her art hangs in Baltimore's City Hall, The Fort McHenry National Shrine, the U.S. State Department, and the Star Pass Resort in Arizona. |  Anxious by Carole Lee Thompson |
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She has exhibited in numerous shows and In the past three prestigious Art Renewal Center (ARC) Salons, Carol has been a finalist seven times and received an Honorable Mention. To view her new gallery on ARC, click here. | |
The Art of the Self Portrait
January 28, 2014
 | The Florence Academy of Art will be offering a special workshop focused on The artist in art, as art. Jack Rosenberg award-winning artist and guest instructor will be teaching two one-week sessions May 26- 30, and June 2 – 6, 2013. The course would be considered an advanced oil painting class. Surely one of the most personally challenging of painting genres as an artist painting oneself must interpret, judge and decide the setting, pose, mood, “beauty” and style; to depict themselves how they are or how they wish to be. It’s a great challenge and rewarding. The class will be taught with traditional sight-size methods. | |
| For more information and to register, click here. | ||
Face to Face: The Craniofacial Program Portrait Project
January 27, 2014
| The project is a partnership between ARC Approved™ Studio Incamminati, School for Contemporary Realist Art; The Craniofacial Program at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Edwin and Fannie Gray Center for Human Appearance at the University of Pennsylvania. | |
| The powerful artwork of Face to Face: The Craniofacial Program Portrait Project, uses the intimate process of portrait painting to help children deal with the psychosocial effects of craniofacial conditions. The exclusive exhibition will take please Feb. 4-15 at the Freeman’s Wayne gallery. An opening event 6 to 8 p.m., Feb. 4 offers opportunities to meet participating artists and the project’s lead psychologist, Dr. David Sarwer. |  "Ian" by Joseph Dolderer |
| To view more on this and other exhibitions, click here. | |
ARC Chairman to Speak at Faces of Winter 2014
January 24, 2014
 Loni by Nelson Shanks | The Connecticut Society of Portrait Painters is presenting "Faces of Winter”, their trademark biennial open juried exhibition featuring 70+ selected works on public view plus a 2-day portrait symposium that brings together outstanding faculty and portrait artists from around the country. The exhibition will run from February 6th through the 28th, 2013, with keynote speech by ARC Chairman, Frederick Ross, and will be honoring ARC Living Master™ Nelson Shanks. The speech by Frederick Ross will be given 1 – 1:45pm Friday, February 7 at the University of Connecticut, UConn Stamford - One University Place, Stamford, CT. The theme of the symposium and the keynote speech will be "Building on Classics." There will also be live demos by ARC Living Masters™ Igor Babailov and Max Ginsburg. | |
| For more information and to register, click here. | ||
Anders Zorn: Sweden' Master Painter
January 23, 2014
| Open now through February 2, 2014 Featuring 100 rarely seen works drawn from public and private collections throughout Europe and the United States, this major retrospective promises to be a revelation for those yet to discover the vibrant artistic personality of Sweden's master painter. Legion of Honor - 100 34th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121 To view more on this and other exhibitions, click here. |  Self Portrait by Anders Zorn |
Kara Lysandra Ross Interviewed by John Pototschnik
January 22, 2014
| Part II of a II part interview has just been published, click here to read the interview. Why, at this time in our history, is there a move away from non-objective art toward realism? "There is a strong move towards realism because people are tired of looking at things that do not require skill. I am sure that in the beginning and even into the 1960s and 1970s, it was exciting to experiment by throwing paint or painting dots and squares, finding found objects and putting them on pedestals, but now, that type of art is just dated. It is not representative of the 21st century. I read an article not too long ago in Times Magazine that was an interview with Damien Hurst. He was talking about a series of paintings he was working on that was the largest collection of paintings of spots ever created. Furthermore he went on to say that he only painted a small portion of them and hired other people to paint the vast majority. When the reporter asked him who he found to help him with the work, he said he tried to find people with no artistic talent to show that anyone can produce this type of art. I could not help thinking, “Aren’t you embarrassed to say that you are selling paintings created by people who you admit yourself have no artistic talent?” So people can paint spots, so what. The only amazing thing about it is that people are still being duped into spending tens of thousands of dollars on things they can produce themselves in a couple hours." |
New ARC Living Master™ Kailin Zhao
January 21, 2014
| Kailin Zhao's work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S and is part of notable public and private collections. His art works has been shown to Art News, Art & Antiques, Asia Art and other media for years. Winner of a number of awards for his works, his realist oil paintings represent all walks of life. His work is widely loved and highly regarded by art collectors and connoisseurs. To view his new gallery on ARC, click here.. |  Rong by Kailin Zhao |
Trip to Rome with Igor Babailov
January 20, 2014
 Official Portrait of Pope Benedict XVI by Igor Babailov | Igor Babailov, Hon. RAA and ARC's Living Master, will take the 'Extreme Drawing Team' to Rome, Italy, March 31th - April 4, 2014 for 5 - days of intense drawing from life, en plein air, in the Eternal City This is an opportunity to team up with Igor Babailov, elected Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts (est.1757), who is known for his exquisite drawings and sketches from life, as well as those of the Pope, Nelson Mandela, and many other prominent individuals. The drawing trip will offer an exciting week in Rome Italy. Space is limited and team members will be selected on a first come first serve basis. For more information about the trip and to register online, please click here. |
Kara Lysandra Ross Interviewed by John Pototschnik
January 14, 2014
| Part I of a II part interview has just been published, click here to read the interview. | |
| How would you summarize the ARC philosophy? "I would say that the main core of the ARC philosophy is that the definition of art has been over expanded to the point where the word "art" has lost its integrity. When any object can be placed on a pedestal and called art, when anything is art, then nothing is art. Anytime you have a definition that expands to encompass everything, then it ceases to have meaning. |  An Offering by Frank Dicksee |
| The ARC philosophy does its best to define what art is. There is of course a difference between craft, decorative art, fine art, and good and bad art, and places of grey where it is perhaps hard to draw the line. This of course makes some people angry. They tend to say things like "who are you to say what is or is not art" but if not us then who? We have stepped forward with scholars and experts, to try and bring respect back to the word and create a sensible type of definition, broad as it may be. Someone had to be the first to publicly state that the "emperor has no cloths". Shark parts in formaldehyde are not art, they are at best an educational science tool; statues of the Virgin Mary made out of cow manure is not art, they are just disgusting; putting bags of trash in the center of a museum and calling it installation art, does not make it art, they are still bags of trash. It is like trying to call an apple an orange; just because you say it is, doesn't make it true. Art is an integral part of every culture, having the power to shape nations and civilizations; the word art is something that should be respected, not just given frivolously. We focus on realism because it is the universal language and the only form capable of expressing and communicating without words the depth of mankind's experiences." | |
Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney
January 10, 2014
| Is open now through February 9, 2014 at The Arkell Museum - 2 Erie Boulevard, Canajoharie, New York 13317 | ||
 Dinosaur Parade by James Gurney | "Inspired by a deep and abiding interest in archaeology, lost civilizations, and the art of illustration, James Gurney invites viewers to enter a fantastical world in which dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side. His luminous paintings, beautifully crafted drawings and hand-made models, which are featured in this exhibition, explore the wonders of the distant past through the lens of the imagination." | |
 Gulliver and the Lilliputians by Jehan Vibert | The exhibition also includes Jehan Georges Vibert's painting of Gulliver and the Lilliputians which brought $1,497,000 at Sotheby's in 2008 setting a record price for the artists work. For more information on this and other exhibitions, click here. | |
TRAC 2014
January 9, 2014
| The Representational Art Conference 2014 (TRAC2014) will focus on the aesthetic principles and values implicit in the representational art of the 21st Century. Presentations, panel discussions and studio art demonstrations will explore the direction of 21st-century representational art, which portrays recognizable people, places and objects. Their purpose is not to establish a single monolithic aesthetic for representational art, but to identify commonalities, understand the unique possibilities of representational art, and perhaps provide some illumination about future directions. | ||
| The upcoming TRAC2014 event will take place from March 2-5, 2014, Ventura, CA. Keynote addresses by Roger Scruton and ARC Living Master™ Juliette Aristides. ARC Living Master™ Virgil Elliott, ARC Living Master™ Jeremy Lipking, Pam Hawkes, Graydon Parrish, Stephen Perkins, Tony Pro, Alexey Steel, and Odd Nerdrum, will also be making presentations. |  Mom by David Kassan | Early-bird registration by Jan. 31 is $375. Single-day passes are available. For more information and to register visit www.trac2014.org. To learn more about this and other Allied Organizations, click here. |
New ARC Associate Living Master™
January 8, 2014
| Roger Dale Brown is avid about traveling, studying, teaching, and competing in national painting competitions. These experiences expand his knowledge of history, nature, and architecture, which inspire his oil paintings. Crediting historical master artists, such as John Carlson and Edgar Payne, Brown believes that "plein air" painting is an essential element to being a great artist. |  Against the Wall by Roger Dale Brown |
| His oil paintings have been displayed in galleries throughout the United States and have won many awards which include: First Place in the Barnes and Farms National Juried Art Show, Museum Purchase Award and third place at the Easton Plein Air Competition, Best of Show at the Central South National Juried Show, as well as the Gold Medal Award from the Hudson Valley Art Association. His work has also been accepted in the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, and Salon International. Roger has been published by: International Artist Magazine, American Artist Magazine, American Art Collector Magazine, and the Artist Magazine. His works are owned by private collectors across the country and include many well-known celebrities and major corporations. To view his new gallery on ARC, click here. | |
New ARC Allied Organization™
January 7, 2014
| The Society of Animal Artists was formed in 1960 by Patricia Allen Bott and Guido Borghi following a successful exhibition at the Bronx Zoo titled, appropriately, 'Animals in the Bronx Zoo'. | ||
 Almost Home by Gary Staab | It is the mission of the Society of Animal Artists to promote excellence in the portrayal of domesticated and wild animals in art. While the majority of their members support both humane and conservation causes with their work, the SAA is itself more dedicated to encouraging artists to strive for mastery of their art medium and educating the public to the fact that animal art can truly be considered Fine Art. | |
| This mission is supported by their annual exhibition, 'Art and the Animal', which opens each year at a fine museum somewhere in the country...and is followed by a tour of approximately one half of the works to three additional museums during the next nine months. A full color catalog of this exhibition is produced each year and is available for purchase at all venues and through the SAA office. In addition, their opening exhibition is often complimented by demonstrations, seminars, and lectures by the members. To learn more about this and other ARC Allied Organizations™ , click here. | ||
Opportunity to Study with Virgil Elliott
January 6, 2014
| ARC Living Master™ Virgil Elliott will be teaching an upcoming figure drawing workshop in his new studio in Petaluma, California.(40 miles north of San Francisco, in Northern California's Wine Country). He will have the same young woman as the model for all three days (no short poses) Cost is $350, which includes the model's fee. Limited to 8 participants. If interested please call 707-664-8198 or write virgilelliott@comcast.net. |  The Projectionist by Virgil Elliott |