Striving for Excellence: The 2020 Class of Portrait Society Signature Status
The 2020 Class of Portrait Society Signature Status
Every year, the Portrait Society of America gives recognition to a small group of distinguished artists with the honorary status of PSS – Portrait Society Signature. This distinction is awarded to artists who consistently demonstrate exceptional skill and a sophistication of aesthetics. “Signature Status recognizes those practicing and accomplished artists who are dedicated to the educational mission and high aesthetic standards of the Portrait Society of America,” says chairman Edward Jonas. Since 2014, over 60 artists have been honored with this special designation, including this year’s recipients of exceptional artists, who are Robin Cole, Joseph Daily, Qiyu Dong, Katherine Galbraith, Johanna Harmon, Kishor Purekar, Timothy Rees, Nathaniel Skousen, Jennifer Welty and Amy Werntz. Each of these artists has a unique story to tell about how the art of portraiture has shaped their lives.
It’s no secret that artists look to other artists for inspiration, from both the past and present.
a native of Memphis, Tennessee, who received her first portrait commission at age 12, acknowledges, “So many artists from the past inspire me. Nicolai Fechin, Valentin Serov, Anders Zorn, Dennis Miller Bunker, Isaac Levitan, Jan Vermeer, Cecilia Beaux, Berthe Morisot and the list goes on. My bookshelf is full of books about these artists, and lots more.” Citing a more modern hero, Galbraith adds, “It’s not enough to paint a likeness; that’s understood. We are to interpret the subject, as Everett Raymond Kinstler said. It’s that combination of interpretation and a beautiful painting that elevate the finest portraits.”
Listing his inspirations, offers a thoughtful, categorical approach. He describes, “The specific qualities I look for are the five principles I borrow from museum
Robin Cole,
oil on linen, 30 x 24"
masters: dark versus light (Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Velazquez), composition (Caravaggio, Hammershoi, Andrew Wyeth), figures under natural light (Zorn, Sorolla, and the Russian and Finnish masters), brilliant or minimal brushstrokes (Sargent, Sorolla, Bouguereau), and most importantly—skin tones (Sargent, Bouguereau, Van Dyck, Rembrandt).” Explaining further, Skousen says, “Portraits need accurate skin tones to breathe life into the piece. Research and color analysis of master paintings and how they painted skin tones enhances the quality of our artworks.”
As well, many artists draw inspiration from other art forms, such as literature or poetry.
who has had solo shows at both Gallery 1261 and Boom Gallery in Denver, Colorado, tells that, “As my undergraduate studies were in literature, writers have helped to guide my path and inspire my pursuits just as meaningfully as my mentors in drawing and painting. I think about visual art and the psychological quality of my pieces has been shaped by my love of poetry and the nuanced effect it has on mind, vision and mood. Among my favorites are Mary Oliver, Rainer Maria Rilke, David Whyte and Pablo Neruda. David Abram’s The Spell of the Sensuous made a deep impression on me because of my love for and deep connection to the natural world. I particularly love the way he links our sensory experiences to the nature of language. In my creative practice, this literary aesthetic has always flowed directly into visual art. To me, they are one and the same: different tools in the same search for meaning.”
In that search for meaning, each of these artists has had great success in achieving portraits that go beyond a likeness, as it is often said. But how to achieve such a portrait? This is a question that artists have pondered at length throughout history. Answers to this question vary from generation to generation and from artist to artist, but our new PSS Members offer some insight into their processes.
For example, explains, “First, I like to spend time with the sitter to become aware of the small actions that are characteristic to them or that reflect their typical emotional state. Then I seek a pose and lighting condition that most clearly reflects their likeness and those characteristic actions. It’s important to me that the person I am painting feels alive in the painting, and these little elements are
Joseph Daily,
oil on linen, 42 x 32"
Qiyu Dong,
oil, 16 x 20"
supremely important. Once I have figured this out, and I start applying paint, I prefer to model the forms of the sitter with a good, stiff stack lead white and reduce the fabric and background to more impressionistic suggestions. The trick is finding the right balance to marriage the two approaches. When I have accomplished these tasks, I feel there is a sort of magic that elevates that portrait to art.”
agrees that attention to the subject and their unique qualities are a critical aspect of any work. He comments, “Above all, for me, a portrait is about the subject. With every portrait I paint, my hope is for the viewer to feel like they are standing in the presence of the actual person, rather than a painting of the person. To achieve this, I place a high priority on the illusion of three-dimensionality—not that I try to hide my brushstrokes, but I strive to paint in such a way that at a certain viewing distance, the brushstrokes begin to merge and the canvas transforms from a flat, paint-covered surface into a seemingly tangible world. Easier said than done, but this is what I strive for!”
For it’s all about the light— and the eyes. “The light is crucial, be it the flat light of a cloudy day, bringing out one’s beautiful skin tones, to dramatic backlighting, which is challenging to paint but oh so rewarding if it is successfully managed. I love a strong composition that sweeps the viewer into its current. I love strong, contrasting values and monochromatic tones. But most of all, I look for a spirit of life in the eyes. They have to convey an aliveness, or all the skill in the world will leave me flat. I am always trying to see through those windows to the soul,” says Welty. “I think the core message I want to convey with my artwork is that every human has indescribable worth and value. This is not determined by outward appearances, or even by one’s accomplishments. The artist who created each and every human has left his creative signature on each priceless creation of his, and it is my aim to reveal that signature though my skills and design choices. Because we are so inundated by technology, so many people have no idea how cherished they are, how much they matter. I try to convey the human spirit that is uniquely theirs though my work.”
And of course, there is always the importance of color. Skousen, who spent almost two years away from direct painting to study color theory exclusively, explains, “I created my own color research about studying grayed-down colors and how color families relate to one another. This required intense color mixing, tubing of those colors, field studies, note taking, museum studying and some deep thinking. It paid off! I started to recognize grays as the foundation of form and seeing color. My painting process sped up and my color notes were more accurate. There was less anguish in the process and more happiness in the result.”
on the other hand, offers a much simpler goal: “To be poetic, not predictable.” Harmon, who has won numerous awards in both our International Portrait and Members-only competitions and has served as faculty at our annual conference, reveals, “I wish to communicate with soulful and emotive paintings, which say just enough to capture the viewer’s attention, draw them in and leave room to engage in the narrative, an unspoken
Katherine Galbraith,
Johanna Harmon,
oil on linen, 24 x 16" dialogue. To connect and be understood. I believe I’ve always deeply connected with my work and communicated my intent. It’s the purest and most honest thing to do, it’s instinctual.” Constantly striving for excellence,
explains, “I am always in pursuit of beauty within the design, composition, color, technique and overall the artwork as an entirety. I hope that good artworks can touch the hearts of people, regardless of the technique of expression or the particular audience. I always strive for the perfect balance between technique and shape in order to express the uniqueness of my subject.”
The subject of beauty—what it is and how to express it—is a complex issue that artists approach in their own ways. Some see it as a goal, and others as a challenge. for example, contends, “I want to challenge the idea of beauty in our society. Rather than putting idealized figures in idealized settings, I want to capture and elevate ordinary moments in the lives of everyday people. I think over the years my technique has evolved in tandem with my own personal ideas of what beauty really is.” Werntz, who hails from a family of artists, goes on to say, “I enjoy the balance produced by painting
Timothy Rees,
oil, 45 x 45"
Jennifer Welty,
oil on linen, 40 x 40" at a time when my art was making a major transition and seeing the instructor’s materials and watching him work taught me so much, one thing being that it didn’t have to be done quickly. It was ok to go slower. That was one of the most important lessons.”
Kolhapur-based sculptor, adds his thoughts on the value of hard work and constant learning. “I believe there is no shortcut to hard work. Every subject has its own limitations and advantages. I try to balance these and every time I learn something new which is fascinating. It has helped me evolve as a human being first, and then as an artist,” he says. “Of course, formal education provides the base, but the real test is to be better amongst the best. So, personally for me, only the amount of actual work done, daily practice with complete dedication and competing to be my better self has helped me. I learn from my mistakes as well as try to look at the positives from peers.”
The 2020 class of PSS artists will be honored at this year’s Annual Conference, which has been rescheduled for August 27 to 30, in Orlando, Florida. Please keep an eye out on our website at www.portraitsociety.org for the most updated information. We look
Amy Werntz,
forward to celebrating this incredible group of artists soon!
Krystle Stricklin, guest writer for the Portrait Society of America, is a PHD candidate in the history of art at the University of Pittsburgh. She specializes in American art, photography, and the visual legacies of war and empire. Krystle received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the history of art from Florida State University.