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Here is a sketch I recently made in Sanibel Island.

I took up oil painting two years ago at age 60. Some might question the wisdom of starting so late and whether it is even possible to reach a level of competency at an age when many have their careers behind them. All I can say is I am learning and I’m loving every minute of it and over time I am making progress in learning the craft. I can remember once taking the DiSC personal profile; I came out with the classic creative pattern. In that sense I have always been a creative type, but now I have discovered the best medium for creative expression. I have an artistic vision, and now I am able to acquire the skill and wherewithal to begin to be able to express and communicate that vision.

Over the next several years, some 70 million baby boomers will retire from their first career and numbers of them will take up fine art as a second vocation. With the revival of traditional oil painting that has been taking place in America, it is an exciting time to do so. This blog is primarily addressed to those who are taking up oil painting as a second vocation later in life. But at the same time, some of what I have to say is applicable to any aspiring artist or craft person of any age. Rather than try to give advice, I’d like to tell you how I came to find a superb painting instructor, Rob Liberace. Though he is younger than I, but much further along in his development as an artist.

My initial effort to learn how to paint was of limited value. I took a course at a local community college. I did so because they had great facilities, they were nearby and the tuition was free. However the quality of the instruction was such that I did not make much progress. On one occasion, the student in front of me had trouble painting a picture of a woman as he could not seem to get the eyes right.

He was attempting to copy a photograph, which in itself is problematic as photographic images are different from and inferior to the images we can see in a living subject. The man was attempting to paint the eyes as lines filled in with color. When he asked the instructor for help, she was unable to tell him how to solve the problem. I know now that the man’s whole approach was wrong. Using the naïve approach of making a line drawing and coloring it in is about as realistic looking as a decal on balloon.

For one thing, painting a realistic portrait is more a matter of values, color temperature and correct edges that putting a line in the right place. The better approach is to sculpt the eye socket until you can “drop the eye in like poached egg” as Sargent famously said.

After this I joined the Portrait Society of America and this proved to be a crucial turning point in my beginning to learn how to paint. At their annual conference I was able to see real portrait painters at work at the face offs, and learn something about technique in the workshops.

Through the PSA, I was able to meet Frank Russell, a seasoned painter and PSA ambassador for Maryland. Frank graciously told me about a life painting group, and also told me about Rob and the Art League in Alexandria. In addition, Linda Lawler in her role as mentor and me how to go about becoming a registered copyist at the National Gallery of Art.

Let me say that my experience in finding an excellent instructor confirmed some thing I have learned in the context of missions related work. First, the best kind of learning takes place in the context of a certain kind of relationship. Prior to the 20^th century, aspiring artists studied as apprentices to masters. This approach is much better suited to cultivating masters than the more common academic approach. The Art Leagues, apprenticeship programs and ateliers can often come closer to the master-apprenticeship approach that has served the art world so well in the past.

The best kind learning takes place in the context of a caring learning community. Western fine art has a wonderfully rich tradition which is still being passed on from masters to their students, and it happens largely in the context of vibrant, encouraging learning communities.

So in conclusion, I have found the best way to learn oil painting is to find someone who is a master at creating the kind of art you aspire to create, and becoming part of the community of artists is the best way to find such masters. In addition supplement your education through such things as reading, watching instructional videos, painting casts and doing master copies from the actual masterpieces. See the book store for some suggested titles of helpful books.

Many thanks to the folks of the Portrait Society and the Art League for providing this kind of community.

Rose Frantzen painting at the face off

On Thursday evening I was blown away at a face of at the Portrait Society conference face off. At these face offs, twelve very accomplished portrait painters are divided into groups of 3 and each group paints on model.

I got there a bit late, and began by going around the room and seeing who was painting what and spent the first period observing Rob Liberace, who is has been named as one of the top 40 artists under 40 in America by American Artist magazine. He got off to a fine start.

For the next period, I decided to observe other artists at work since I have the privilege of taking courses from Rob at the Art League, and will be able to learn from him over time. In the next group, I noticed a very energetic young woman named Rose Frantzen painting in a way I had never seen before

She began with a mass of almost black paint and a very rough sketch of the subject, and then began to coax a living being out of the chaos. I was spellbound and her performance was stunning. I have been studying painting for about two years, and as a student artist, I have yet to get a basic grasp of my art. But I have reached the point where I can at least recognize greatness. Even someone who can’t play a note can recognize the greatness of say Leonard Bernstein conduct Aaron Copeland’s Appalachian Spring. She painted with passion, joyfully and with a good heart. Learned more in two hours of watching her and conversing with her than I learned in a year of community college courses. As Pastor Curt Young said, it is through the power of example that we really learn.

The portrait after two hours

In two hours, Frantzen created a museum quality portrait. It wasn’t simply a museum quality portrait; it was a masterpiece. Among portrait painters, no artist is held in such high regard as John Singer Sargent. Believe me when I tell you this young woman has the potential to become the next Sargent. I am not alone in my opinion. When I asked her how she learned, she told me she had studied with the American master, Richard Schmid. Schmid believes she is likely to become one of the great painters of this century.

Art is a mysterious thing. It is a gift of God, and it is hard wired into the human soul. Why? Because the Creator made us in his own image. As he is, we are to be.

This young lady is not only a fine artist; she was down to earth and gladly shared her knowledge with the other attendees who pressed in to ask all kinds of questions during breaks. Being an artist is not merely about technique. Yes it is essential to know how to say it. But there are deeper questions. What we have to say and why we say it matter more.

There is a great revival of fine art going on. Some of the grotesque aberrations of twentieth century modern art are having their last gasp, and the best of traditions of western fine art are being revived and built upon. Artists are finding their voices again. And as we rediscover how, may we also rediscover what to say and above all why.

To learn more about artist Rose Frantzen, Rob Liberace or the Portrait Society of America, please visit their web sites. The National Portrait Gallery is showing her Portrait of Maquoketa, a show of the portraits of 180 members of Rose Frantzen’s Iowa home town.