Art of the Portrait Conference 2016

It was a wonderful four days! I tried to get a photo of all of our Texas members. My apologies if I missed you. 

Jennifer Balkan

Texas Delegation

Julia Barbeau and Karen Offutt

Gathering before the Gala

Nora Dempsey

Thursday Dinner at Tavern 64

Marion Koch

Spotlight on Daniel (Danny) Grant, Texas Top Ten 2016

"Big Dreams", 10"x 13", Oil on Linen

Name: Daniel Grant             
Current City: Austin, TX 
Website: http://www.dannygrantfineart.com/


1) When and how did you first become seriously interested in Art? 
I loved to draw when I was young and was influenced by my grandmother who took up painting later in life. However, I didn't take art seriously or consider it as a career option until after high school when I enrolled in a drawing class at my local junior college. I was strongly encouraged by my professor to continue, and realized I had the love for it.  

2) What is your training, and what medium(s) / subject matter do you work in?
I trained at Jacob Collins' Water Street Atelier. I paint in oil and paint mostly still lifes and portraits. 

3) What do you try to express in your work? 
I try to paint and capture the way light describes different forms and textures. Above all, I want my paintings to be beautiful and spiritually uplifting.

4) What artists/professionals have been your biggest influences? 
There are a ton of artists I admire and who have influenced my work. I love Jacob Collins' paintings, Scott Waddell, Douglas Flynt to name a few. I love Ayn Rand's ideas and writing. Jeff Buckley might be my favorite musician.

5) What do you do to gain new inspiration for your work? 
I find other works of art to be very inspirational. Many times I will get an idea or insight from something I've read or movie I've watched. 

6) What would you like to be doing with your art ten years from now? 
I'd like to be painting more private commissions and making 10 times more money. 

7) Do you set goals for yourself concerning the making of your art?
I do. Although, I'm not great at meeting self-imposed deadlines. I have set the goal of making three particular paintings this year that I have been wanting to make for a while. I'm 1/3 of the way there, so far. 

8) Are you happy with your job choice as an artist? Do you have any regrets in this career choice or things you would have done differently? 
I am very happy with my choice to be an artist. I have no regrets other than I wish I would have known where to get the best training sooner.  

9) Any fun or interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share?

Last year I started a podcast where I interview other artists to get a glimpse of their daily lives as professional artists. It's called The Studio and you can listen/download on my website: http://www.dannygrantfineart.com/podcast or subscribe on iTunes (search Danny Grant The Studio).

10) Best piece of advice for other artists?

Paint what you love.

Spotlight on Pamela Dennis Hall, Texas Top Ten 2016

"John and Charlie", 40" x 30",  Oil on Canvas​

Name: Pamela Dennis Hall

Current City: Fredericksburg, TX

Website: pameladennishall.com

When and how did you first become seriously interested in art?

I have always been aware of the beauty around me and tried to translate what I see into

art. My father used to bring home reams of used paper from his work, and I would turn

over to the unused side and draw what was around me. My love of horses and dogs

turned into countless drawings. My first “solo show” was in first grade, when my teacher

asked me to draw other students for an open house. Knowing that others could respond

to my work became further incentive to create.

What is your training and what medium(s) subject matter do you work in?

Art classes on weekends at the Cleveland Museum in grade school, and the opportunity

to take weekend classes at the Cleveland Art Institute during high school gave me a solid

background in drawing. Going to an art institute after high school was frowned upon by

my parents, who wanted me to have the security of an art education degree. At Ohio

State University, I found that by majoring in figure drawing, I could add some studies in

realism to the enormous pressure to create abstractions in my other studio classes.

Through workshops with artists such as Daniel Greene, David Leffel, and many others, I

learned about materials and techniques that enable paintings to last for years to come.

My favorite medium is oils and subject matter is portraiture….human, dog or equestrian.

What do you try to express in your work?

I try to create not just portraits, but paintings with an emphasis on composition and light.

Light fascinates me…it can be a small spot of sunlight on a leaf, the way light travels

across a subject’s face, or falls on a subject washed with sunlight from a nearby window.

I want to go beyond the likeness, for each portrait subject offers chance to honor a

person’s spirit and character for family and friends for years to come. As a life-long

lover of animals, I see the opportunity to show what makes them unique and the special

character that makes them an important part of their owner’s lives.

What artists/professionals have been your biggest influences?

There are so many! Sargent always comes first for me. Sorolla, Van Dyke, Vermeer,

Landseer…and on and on. A contemporary favorite is Burton Silverman. His portraits

have such insight and solidity.I think Daniel Greene showed his workshop students that an artist can work better with some structure to the way paint is mixed and handled. Before that, I was mixing colors

here and there, with no real method. Being able to really see color and mix paints to be

the color I was seeing was a big step forward. David Leffel saw poetry in the smallest

things…his ability to share that with his classes was inspiring. Carolyn Anderson and her emphasis on letting edges go was also an influence.

What do you do to gain new inspiration for your work?

I can just take a walk, go out to visit with my horses and watch then grazing, and just

naturally doing what they were intended to do, or look at my 5 dogs in my studio with

me, and get ideas for paintings. A neighbor just bought a Charolais bull and he is on the

list. What a magnificent animal! I am always trying to make each new painting a step forward in technique and

expression, and if I am feeling stuck, looking through works of artists, or taking a

workshop can be a boost. The Metropolitan Museum is a must for trips to New York

City.

What would you like to be doing ten years from now?

Painting portraits of people and animals with ten years of added insight and experience.

Do you set goals for yourself concerning the making of your art?

Yes, I am always trying to improve my technique and my ability to make a painting what

I envision.

Are you happy with your job choice as an artist? Do you have any regrets in this

career choice or things you would have done differently?

I love being a portrait painter. It offers a unique chance to know and relate to clients.. I

am now painting the 2 year-old child of a client I painted when she was a teen. The

connection with people means a great deal to me.I would definitely do things differently. If I had a chance for a “do over” I would go to the Art Student’s League and study instead of going to college.

Any fun or interesting facts about yourself that you’d like to share?

Fifteen years ago, I moved to a small ranch near Fredericksburg, TX. It gave me a space

to do exactly what I wanted to do, near a town with well known art galleries and an

artist’s school that hosted workshops all year. Having a space for all the animals I love

and the rewarding job of caring for them and their environs is a built in source of joy.

The only vacations I require are trips to museums!

Best piece of advice for other artists?

Don’t doubt yourself, and never think you have reached your goals.

You can nurture an astute inner critic, and hear other’s positive and negative comments
about your work and use both to further your goals.

Spotlight on Karen Offutt, Texas Top Ten 2016

Lena (Head Study), 10"x10", oil on panel

Name: Karen Offutt 

Current City: Austin, Texas

Website/Blog:  www.karenoffutt.com

1) When and how did you first become seriously interested in Art?

     I've been drawing and painting all my life.  Every job along the way, has always been art related one way or another.  Such as painting custom tile work, designing for a needlepoint company, and painting fantasy furniture.  But I had a strong pull towards fine art painting.

2) What is your training, and what medium(s) / subject matter do you work in?   

     While knowing how to draw and also paint with acrylics, I wanted to learn oil painting.  I took classes through Austin Fine Arts Classes, over 15 years ago, to learn that medium and to fine tune my drawing skills.  From there I took various workshops from well know national artists. 

3) What do you try to express in your work? 

     I am a realism painter.  I love to explore different ways in creating an emotion and a sense of place.  But I'm especially drawn to painting people.  Whether it's a portrait, a figurative piece or a landscape, for me, that's my personal connection. 

4) What artists/professionals have been your biggest influences?  

     It's almost too difficult to narrow down my influences.  I love Anders Zorn for example.  He's in the same circle, to me as Sargent and Sorolla, but because I have a lot of family in Sweden, I get to see that work in person more often than not.  But I love their approach to the beautiful paint application and how deliberate and calculating they are. But then I also love Lucien Freud's work in that it digs deeper into a personal psychology.  There are many more who I admire and also my contemporaries.

5) What do you do to gain new inspiration for your work?  

       I love to travel and get out of my cave so that I can open myself up to new ideas.  Getting out and seeing new gallery or museum shows help tremendously.  Sometimes when I get in a rut, I will do something creative for our house, like build a coat rack, paint some walls, do some sort of home project that's creative yet lets my mind free from the pressure.  Then something will click during that project and I'll have a reinvigorated  vision of what I want to paint next.

6) What would you like to be doing with your art ten years from now?  

     Things can really change over time.  It has for me from ten years ago to now.  The way I see the world, my approaches to my technique and how they have evolved, my outlook and inspirations, etc.  So, I suspect that things may change ten years from now.  But I have no clue as to how and what that will look like.  It's an evolutionary process and that to me is exciting.  So I'll have to say, to be continued........

7) Do you set goals for yourself concerning the making of your art?

      Well, I made a deal with myself.  If I don't have any deadlines and I've got some time that I'm not filling up with big, finished work, I will make small scale studies or paintings everyday so that I'm always connected to my art. 

8) Are you happy with your job choice as an artist? Do you have any regrets in this career choice or things you would have done differently?   

      I love to draw and paint so there is always a pull towards it.  I never see it as a "job", I see it as an opportunity.  Sometimes in the day to day grind, it can be challenging to get into the studio and do the work.  But, frankly, it feeds my soul.  I'm sure I'm not alone with this idea, but, I can't stop thinking about it.  It's something that I have to do.  It's very therapeutic! 

9) Any fun or interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share?

     I am pretty active in that I go to the gym as much as possible and power walk.  I find it to be helpful in flushing out a lot of the traffic in the brain and it helps me to be more focused.   Travel has and always be part of my life and now as my young kids are getting older, I want them to have that same experience and wonder about our world.  And since my mom is from Sweden and most of my family lives there, I want them to have that connection to those relatives and their heritage.

10) Best piece of advice for other artists?  

     Always listen to your inner voice, in your art and in the business side of art.  And never stop learning=)

Spotlight on Dennis Farris, Texas Top Ten 2016

"Fred (Pa), Haunted House Volunteer"  36x38.5, oil on panel

Name: Dennis Farris
Current City: Fort Worth
Website: farrisart.com

1) When and how did you first become seriously interested in Art?
I have been drawing since I was a child, so it has been a constant all my life
in some way or another.

2) What is your training, and what medium(s) / subject matter do you work in?
I have a BFA in Commercial Art, plus I had a tremendous art program in High School.
The Art teacher Janice Malott, exposed us to drawing and painting, in water based and
oil paints, as well as air-brush, pottery, sculpture. We really had a chance to experience
a wide spectrum of media and develop a skill level in each. I also was taught by the artist Bob
Byerley when I was a teenager. He is a virtuoso with paint, his skills as a painter and storyteller were very influential in my artistic foundation.

3) What do you try to express in your work?
I am attracted to dramatic lighting and tend to convey that in my work. In my landscapes
I love to paint atmosphere, and in portrait or figurative work I like a lot of contrast between
the lights and darks. I like to paint things that make me go "wow".

4) What artists/professionals have been your biggest influences?  
The two I mentioned above were very influential. More recently the Hudson River School
of painters has had the most influence in my landscapes. I love the work of Sargent, and
Sorolla, although I have a very difficult time creating the big juicy brushstrokes they have,  I keep trying.

5) What do you do to gain new inspiration for your work?
Traveling is always good for new
inspiration when possible. Getting out of my everyday environment always sparks new ideas.
If travel isn't possible I will go through my catalog of reference photos and "revisit" a location in the studio to gain inspiration.Museums and art shows and nowadays perusing new artists on Facebook
are also options for getting out of a creative "funk".

6) What would you like to be doing with your art ten years from now?
I hope to be doing better paintings, to keep learning.

7) Do you set goals for yourself concerning the making of your art?
I think goals are very important for me to keep moving. I like to set a destination,
achieve it, and then reassess, and set a new destination. Art can be very fluid, so long term goals
for me tend to be broad, so if opportunity arises along the way I can be ready to see where it leads.

8) Are you happy with your job choice as an artist? Do you have any regrets in this career choice or things you would have done differently? 
I have absolutely no regrets. Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I am doing what I love, while so many people can't,
or won't, but I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.

9) Any fun or interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share?
I love cycling, riding a bicycle is like an expression of freedom...and I love to get to the top of the hill first.I also love
volunteering and acting in Hangman's House of Horrors, a charity Haunted House in Fort Worth.Jumping out and
scaring someone so much that they scream out of the room is such an adrenaline rush...especially when then pay
to get in.

10) Best piece of advice for other artists?
Learn from everyone, but be yourself.

Spotlight on Gaye Sekula, Texas Ambassador

While waiting to hear from the rest of the Texas Top Ten Competition winners, I thought you might be interested in knowing more about me,  your Texas Ambassador.

"Abigail", 7"x 5", Pastel

Name: Gaye Sekula

Current City: Converse, Texas

Website: sekulastudio.com

Blog: gayesekula.blogspot.com

1. When and how did you first become seriously interested in art? I don't have a reference point from which to answer definitively but, it has been at least 10 years and has been almost all consuming.

2. What is your training and what mediums/subject matter do you work in? I have taken, and continue to take, workshops with the best artists I can afford. I also have an extensive DVD collection and library. I have spent most of my waking hours for the past 10 years studying and/or creating art. It is a labor of love and a source of pure joy. I am currently most interested in portraits, with landscapes running a close second. Vignettes of both are my passion.

3. What do you express in your work? I try to express a sense of place or personality, depending on the subject. While I admire fully rendered paintings, I much prefer the look of sketches/vignettes, which give the viewer the chance to fill in the blanks and create a story of their own.

4. What artists/professionals have been your biggest influence? Artists who have been most influential are Carolyn Anderson, Nicolai Fechin, Robert Liberace, Laura Robb, Joaquin Sorolla and Jeffrey Watts. Other professionals include Twyla Tharp and Dorothea Lange.

5. What do you do to gain new inspiration in your work? Head to New Mexico! When that isn't possible, I go through my collection of art DVD's, look at a favorite artist's work online or in books and, if I am feeling blocked, I take a workshop in a totally different medium.

6. What would you like to be doing with your art ten years from now? I find setting goals too far in advance to be a hindrance. If I wrote done goals for ten years from now, I would be too focused to notice other paths or opportunities that may open in the meantime. I try to keep my goals set to one year at a time. As I accomplish one goal, I immediately add another. Using the S.M.A.R.T acronym, (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely), has been one of the most effective things I have ever done.

7. Do you set goals for yourself? I do and rarely share them. Sharing goals seems to invite unsolicited advice. Keeping them to myself insures that I am hearing my own voice and staying on my own path.

8. Are you happy in your job choice as an artist? Do you have any regrets in this career choice or things you would have done differently? I am very happy with my job choice. It's impossible to live with a few regrets but, since we cannot change things, it is best to look forward rather than backwards.

9. Any fun or interesting facts about yourself you'd like to share? I would like to answer with a quote from Georgia O'Keeffe, "I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do".

10. Best piece of advice for other artists? Your voice is just as important as anyone else's. Be who YOU were born to be!

Spotlight on Annie Walker, Texas Top Ten 2016

"The Hidden Person of the Heart", 20"x 16", Oil on Linen

Name:  Ann Kraft Walker
Current City:The Woodlands
Website: AnnKraftWalker.com

1) When and how did you first become seriously interested in Art?  

My mother was the most creative person I know. She made everything she touched beautiful. From an early age I was aware of many creative art forms. A fourth grade art teacher told me I should be an artist, so I tucked that away as a prospect. I majored in Art History in 1977 at UT ( the degree was chosen based on no math requirements ). Fast forward to the early 90's when my husband's job moved us and our three young children to northern Germany for a few years. It came over me all at once, standing in front of a Dutch floral painting in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia. At that moment, I desperately wanted to learn to paint.

2) What is your training, and what medium(s) / subject matter do you work in? 

I began fooling around with paint in the mid 90's, but only tried my hand at folk art. I was mostly wife and mommy, so not much time went to art for many years. I gradually grew bored with folk art and began shifting toward realism. Progress was very slow, as some years I would only paint one work. My first oil painting was a still life, and I continue in oil and predominately still life work, but I love portraits too. In 2010 I began taking workshops and the learning curve accelerated.

3) What do you try to express in your work? 

Just beauty. I love plain, simple beauty. 

4) What artists/professionals have been your biggest influences?  

 I took a workshop from Casey Baugh when I knew next to nothing and I was so excited by what I was learning I could hardly stand it. I have been privileged to take from Rob Liberace, David Kassan, Jeff Hein, Michael Klein and most recently Josh LaRock.

5) What do you do to gain new inspiration for your work?  

I pray a lot. Often inspiration comes unexpectedly, almost subconsciously. Sometimes an idea will be planted as a tiny seed and grows slowly, or sometimes it hits me all at once.

6) What would you like to be doing with your art ten years from now?  

The same thing, only lots lots better I hope! I would like to focus more on portrait and figurative work and tackle more ambitious projects.

7) Do you set goals for yourself concerning the making of your art? 

A very important goal of late has been seeking balance in life and art. The first year or so after InSight Gallery took me on, I could not catch up to save my life. I became overwhelmed and stressed with deadlines, show entries, commissions and other commitments. That took a toll, robbed some of the joy and some very mediocre work resulted. I made some major changes and I've got the peace and joy back. I hope my work will improve as a result.

8) Are you happy with your job choice as an artist? Do you have any regrets in this career choice or things you would have done differently?  

Totally and completely happy. I am incredibly grateful for this privilege of making art!

9) Any fun or interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share? 

When I was a little girl I had a pet raccoon that slept with me.

10) Best piece of advice for other artists? 

Although shows, competitions, accolades and such are all wonderfully fun, the very best and sweetest part of it all is just being at the easel. The process is a mixed bag of highs and lows, successes and failures and a zillion other things which make up a multifaceted gem that is solid joy. Enjoy the process!