Questions for Faculty Part #2

For issue #162 of International Artist Magazine, we interviewed six faculty artists on the topics of mentoring, facing obstacles, and education. We couldn't publish all of their answers in the magazine, so here are the words of wisdom from the faculty.

MENTORING QUESTIONS

1. Did you have an artist that mentored you in the beginning of your career, and what impact did that have and/or continues to have on your artistic journey?

2. Have you been able to set aside time in your own career to mentor other artists?

3. Is there advice that your mentor imparted that you could share with other artists?

Michelle Dunaway, Revelation - Jeanne D' Arc, 20x12, oil on linen 

Answers from Michelle Dunaway

One of the biggest mentors and influences in my career has been with artist Richard Schmid. I met him and his wife, artist Nancy Guzik, in 2009 and painted with them regularly, developing a close friendship with both of them over the years. Richard had been a huge influence to me before I met him, through his book Alla Prima. When he saw my painting that was one of 16 finalists in the Portrait Society of America Competition in 2010, he called me and invited me to come paint with him at his studio. We quickly became good friends, and he became an influential mentor and dear friend until his recent passing. Although I was already an established artist at the time I met Richard, his encouragement and generosity of spirit in sharing his knowledge was so valuable and really inspired me in countless ways.   

Yes, I think mentorship is so important, and it’s something Richard Schmid would ask of everyone that he mentored -- that they pay it forward and mentor others as well so the legacy of great competent painting would continue for generations. It makes my heart full to see some of the artists I’ve mentored over the years now going on to mentor others as well, some even being faculty at the Portrait Society's annual conference.

I think the biggest advice more than any painting technique or technical aspect, although it's important to know your materials and tools to impart your vision on canvases powerfully, is to be authentic to you and your sensitivities in how you see the world. We all see through a unique lens of our own perception, yet we share a commonality of the human perspective in this moment in time. Richard Schmid would always stress the importance of not just painting what you SEE but to paint what YOU see as the artist with a particular sensitivity to what moves your spirit as an individual. Yes, we are capturing light, values and shapes in a certain arrangement to be faithful to nature, but how you orchestrate that hierarchy of elements is dependent upon your intention as the artist -- and that’s what turns it into art.

Paul Newton, Katherine, 31x24”, oil on canvas

Answers from Paul Newton

At the beginning of my career in the arts, I remember talking to a guy who was a senior in the field of commercial illustration. He gave me a number of tips that were really helpful. One thing he said which I’ve never forgotten, is that if you make a mistake when painting, do it confidently, and it is likely no one will ever realize it was a mistake!  

At that time, I learnt so much from other more experienced artists; not only techniques, but their whole philosophy in relation to painting. There were many different approaches, and as another friend told me, it’s like eating fish, you swallow the flesh but spit out the bones. Not everything you’re told is going to be useful or relevant to you but it’s always worth considering, as you may uncover a gem.

Over the last few years, I have spent time with younger artists in an effort to encourage them to follow their dreams. Unlike law, accountancy, or medicine, there’s no prescribed career path to become an artist. You must forge your own pathway and it’s often difficult to know if you’re even on the right track. It’s such a precarious way to make a living, and so it’s hard for someone starting out to know whether it’s even worthwhile pursuing this path. Clearly one needs a degree of talent, or the hill becomes too steep. But even more importantly than talent, one needs drive and passion and a strong work ethic. I tell young artists that if I can do it, they can do it too. It’s difficult at times but not impossible, and it’s so rewarding.

OBSTACLES QUESTIONS

1. Portraiture as part of the visual arts can be a challenging genre. What do you find to be the most difficult aspect when creating a portrait?

2. How did you navigate the early obstacles you faced in establishing yourself as a portrait artist?

3. How do you balance capturing both likeness and personality in your portraits, especially when facing creative challenges?

4. What advice would you give to emerging artists about tackling the complexities of portrait work?

Ruth Fitton, Study of Rafa, 14x11", oil on panel

Answers from Ruth Fitton

Portraiture can be a challenging balance. You are required to be expert at portraying a sitter’s physical likeness, insightful in capturing their character, and highly competent in your chosen medium. Added to all this, is the desire to present your client with not just a faithful representation of the sitter, but with a work of art. I find this last element the most elusive. It often comes down to composition, which can be difficult to prioritise when faced with the task of accurately capturing a sitter who may be a complete stranger to you.

The best solution that I have found is time. Take time for preliminary sittings. Multiple preliminary sessions, if possible, ease the pressure and allow you the space to create a composition that you love and which reflects the best of your sitter.

I would say that spending time with your sitter in these early stages is also the key to capturing their personality. Through spending time, you absorb the way their character translates into body language and facial expression almost subconsciously. In a situation where it isn’t possible to spend a lot of time with the sitter, then I would ask for video footage, photos from family events, even stories. If I can build a strong mental image of the sitter (what they are like, as well as how they appear), then I find this comes out in the painting without too much effort, leaving me free to concentrate on likeness and composition.

The biggest obstacle for me, starting out, was finding models to work from life. I didn’t go to an art school, so models were not readily available to me. In the early years I painted a lot of self portraits, working from life with a mirror. Eventually I was able to team up with a couple of other artists who were interested in figurative work and began hosting regular open studio portrait sessions in my studio, splitting the cost of model hire between us. It was amazing how quickly my skills improved after that.

I would advise all emerging artists to practice alla prima portraiture from life if they possibly can. It builds in you an understanding and confidence in the basics, a speed of decision making, and a skill for simplification which will free up your mind and your creativity to focus on the more complex elements of every picture.

Aside from that, the challenge in starting out is always becoming known. You have to be seen, somewhere, somehow, in order to start getting work. It’s easy to see the specifics of your personal situation as limitations, if they prevent you from following the same paths as your peers. I would advise emerging artists to focus on what they do have, rather than what they don’t. There will always be opportunities. They may not be the same opportunities accessible to others – good! This allows you to be you. The differing experiences you have will make you and your art more unique. So my advice to emerging artists is always, don’t fixate on what you think the path ought to be. Instead look around you and live your own life, and keep moving with all the determination that you have.

Rose Frantzen, Sue Blodgett, 36x28”, oil

Answers from Rose Frantzen

What is it about a face, a portrait, a person that leaves me endlessly fascinated with the adventure of capturing an essence in paint? I say adventure because, for decades now, I have been humbled and challenged by the process of turning a blank canvas into a representation, a visceral sense of the aliveness of both my subject and myself. This endeavor nearly always leads to moment-to-moment movements and shifts that require attention. I need to attend to the mixture of paint, the color, the lay and gesture of the brush, how the whole is in harmony with the parts, this alignment, that proportion, the movement of mouth, the flicker of an eye, the tilt of a head, the shape of a shadow and its disappearance into the light. Ahhh... but ultimately I need to attend to the human being in front of me. I need to somewhat let go of my painter self to be a listener, an asker of questions, a human being holding genuine curiosity for this other human being. For the tiniest of times, we share this world, our worlds, our selves, and I'm as engaged in this dynamic as I am in the painting process. Perhaps, this is the reason I may not always succeed in a masterful representation of all the forms and shapes that make up the the face I am painting. I may not always elegantly soften an edge or efficiently lay the paint. I may have mistakes in my drawing, weakness in my shadow structure. Yes, the painting can always be better. I can work on what I've missed when the subject is no longer in front of me. But how was our day? How was our experience? Did we meet each other? Did I see them? Did I allow myself to be seen? Do they feel valued, appreciated, and maybe a little more loved? The no-longer-blank canvas will be better when I'm done. I don't know if it is art. I know it will hold parts of our day. It will look like them, and hopefully it will feel like us.

One unexpected surprise in my official portrait painting career is that I like to build the painting with my subject; I want them to have a say in the work. I like to figure out how to make what I get to paint — within the parameters that are suggested — into a painting I want to paint. I enjoy the input, it gives me the sense of their investment. Maybe it was the realization (before I became a professional portrait painter, working with live models in my studio) that we were making the painting together. It was always our painting somehow. This may in some ways have made it easier to leap into the formal role as a portrait artist. I also like it when they trust me. I build trust by taking each commission seriously, I give my best effort every time, and I don't give them a painting that is less than my best effort. I might redo the entire painting, learning from the first, making changes that I feel are needed, if that is what it takes to give them the best possible painting.

I believe portraiture is work that serves a purpose, often honoring individuals that have served or are the temporal face of an institution, those who are benefactors and charitable with their life's efforts. Portraits can hold family members' presences and validate lives lived and loved. It is important to learn that you, your skill set, and your style are being asked to capture something about these persons' lives. It is important to be clear with yourself and understand what your work can bring to your conversations with the commissioning party.

If you are new to this profession, you may not know what you can do. I think it is important to be open to the opportunity and learn within it. This might mean welcoming feedback from your client. Take it well; sit with it a while before you react. Listen to your customer's concerns and try to learn what is actually needed for the painting. As a teacher of representational portrait painting, I've learned that the lay person can see something is off, but they and perhaps you don't know what it is. They may say the mouth is not right, or the eyes are off... your solutions to these comments only start at the realization that something is off. I often find it is best to note the concern, thank them for their help, and go back to the studio and look at everything. Question even your favorite passage in the portrait. Then put a piece of Duralar over your painting and practice solutions to the problems that were raised. When you get what you want, fix the actual painting.

EDUCATION QUESTIONS

1. Can you tell us about where you studied art and how important that has been to your development as an artist?

2. You paint mostly from life, either plein air or with a model, what advantages do you think that provides in your work?

3. Is there some advice you would give to an emerging artist on seeking an art education in today’s environment. Would you recommend a traditional training route vs atelier or mentoring?

Mario Robinson, Pixie, 60x40”, watercolor

Answers from Mario Robinson

I studied Fine Art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. The introduction to basic principles such as understanding painting materials, design elements and the importance of drawing skills laid a firm foundation on which I could build my body of work. In conjunction to furthering my personal growth as an artist, I gained respect for artists who came before me in my Art History class.

Painting from life offers a connection with the subject matter that a photograph cannot provide. There’s also the issues of visual distortion and color issues. If I reach for the occasional photographic reference, I can use my knowledge of what I “know to be true” and course correct when confronting certain problems in the photograph.

While art education is not a “one size fits all,” I highly recommend a program that’s well rounded. I’m partial to a traditional art school, largely due to the accreditation. In addition, the cross pollination of disciplines can spark interesting ideas. There’s a different kind of energy on a college campus. I recommend a no-nonsense approach to approaching the years a student allocates to their academic career. I left Pratt Institute and declared myself a full-time artist and haven’t looked back since that moment in 1994.

Oliver Sin, Portrait of Shane Neal, 17x14", Vine Charcoal on Drawing Paper

Answers from Oliver Sin

Oliver Sin, an alumnus of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA, earned his BFA in Illustration. After graduating in 1996, he began his art career as a concept artist at LucasArts. Since 2001, Oliver has returned to his alma mater as an art professor, continuing to teach and inspire others. Oliver’s passion for art began early—he recalls starting to draw at the age of 3. Portraiture, in particular, became his favorite form of expression, which he continues to practice both as a professor and as a personal hobby. Learning to work with vine charcoal has been pivotal to his development as an artist, teaching him the value of precision, patience, and subtle contrasts. This medium deepened his understanding of light and shadow, refining his technical skills and shaping his expressive, dynamic artistic style.

Oliver primarily works from life, drawing and painting live models or natural settings. This approach allows him to observe light, color, and texture in their purest forms, capturing subtleties that photography often misses. Painting from life fosters a deeper connection to the subject, enabling him to respond to the energy and expression of the model in real-time, which brings vitality and emotion to his work. The dynamic and ever-changing environment of painting outdoors also challenges him to stay engaged and adaptive, sharpening his observational and technical skills.

Choosing between traditional training, atelier education, or mentorship depends on an artist’s goals and learning preferences. Traditional art schools offer a broad education, exposing students to various mediums and art theory, making them ideal for those seeking a well-rounded experience. Ateliers, however, focus on technical mastery and classical methods, appealing to artists passionate about representational art. Mentorship provides personalized guidance and real-world insights, offering a flexible and targeted approach to skill development. Since 2011, Oliver has been fortunate to work with renowned contemporary artists such as ZhaoMing Wu, HuiHan Liu and Henry Yan. Their mentorship has pushed him to focus on capturing fleeting human expressions and honing precise compositions in his figurative portraits. Each learning path—traditional training, atelier, or mentorship—has unique strengths, and Oliver’s journey reflects how these paths can intersect to build an artist’s confidence, skills, and voice.