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Art Monk

by Melissa Messer

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All articles filed in September 2016

Portrait Workshop with Gregory Mortenson

By: Melissa September 22, 2016January 6, 2018
Color, Painting, Workshop, Year Three2 Comments on Portrait Workshop with Gregory Mortenson

In August I took a two-week portrait workshop in New York at Jacob Collins’ atelier, Grand Central Academy (GCA). The workshop was taught by Gregory Mortenson who does beautiful portrait work. Advertisements

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Color, Painting, Workshop, Year Three2 Comments on Portrait Workshop with Gregory Mortenson

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As a native Texan I should be used to driving four hours in the desert and coming upon a glittering oasis like, say #Marfa. Still, as a resident of Washington I was unprepared for just how cool the Columbia River Gorge area and especially the Maryhill Museum would be. Here’s one last love note to our weekend journey to the Richard Lack exhibition and the reception for our group show. • • • • • #maryhillmuseum #washingtonstate #maryhill #columbiarivergorge #centralwashington #easternwashington #oregon #washingtonroadtrip #westcoast #desertvibes #summerishere #desert #pnwartist #richardlack #seattleart #seattleartist #artlife #artmuseum #washington #contemporaryart #classicalrealism #americanart #traditionalart #desertoasis #nicesurprise #bluesky #artschool #arthistory
Here’s just a taste of the magic of Richard F. Lack (1928 - 2009) in details, a self portrait and some videos of the galleries exhibiting his work @maryhillmuseum. The scale and ambition of these works alone boggles the mind. In an adjacent gallery our atelier is honored to show in “Atelier: Process and Painting, Master and Student from the Aristides Atelier” in which Juliette Aristides and her former students demonstrate the future of Lack’s classical atelier vision. • "Atelier Lack was a fixture in the Uptown Minneapolis neighborhood for decades. The studio and school was the center of a style of painting dubbed 'Classical Realism' by its founder, Minneapolis native Richard Lack (1928-2009). Lack's lodestar was the then-unfashionable, traditional style of painting inspired by the Old Masters. He coined the term Classical Realism in 1974 to distinguish his manner of painting from the other 'isms' of the time, such as Modernism and Surrealism. Besides training others in his method and inspiring other ateliers in the United States, Lack was a prolific artist." -- from Minnesota Historical Society • #figurepainting #portraitpainting #figuredrawing #portraitdrawing #maryhillmuseum #richardlack #aristidesatelier #julietteraristides #classicalrealism #realistart #realism #pnw #masterpainter #paintingprocess #imaginitiverealism #imaginitivepainting #paintingfromlife #atelierlack #paintingfromimagination #stilllifepainting #americanrealism #oilpainting #painting #artexhibition #arteducation #narrativepainting #classicalatelier #ateliermovement #contemporaryrealism
Saturday morning we left the city, drove through the mountain pass and into the desert of eastern Washington to gather at Maryhill Museum for a truly special occasion. The reception for our show “Atelier: Process and Painting, Master and Student from the Aristides Atelier,” curated to demonstrate classical atelier training as proliferated by the great Richard Lack (1928-2009). Just one flight of stairs separated our reception and a robust gallery of Lack’s works, processes, and those of his students and teachers. What an incredible feeling to see classical realism consecrated in a museum with contemporary dates on the labels. And what an honor for our atelier to be part of that story. • • • • • #aristidesatelier #painting #richardlack #maryhillmuseum #maryhill #columbiarivergorge #pnw #easternwashington #washingtonstate #pnwart #seattleart #seattleartist #juliettearistides #oilpainting #oilsketch #learningtopaint #washingtonroadtrip #pnwonderland #artmuseum #dreamscomingtrue #learningtodraw #classicalart #academicart #realistart #contemporaryartists #classmates #arteducation #artfriends #artfamily #ateliermovement
I made so many sketches for a painting I never made. This is my favorite project that never happened. Our studio is so objectively beautiful and our time here unquestionably special that I wanted to capture atelier classmate @mariahuangart painting in it. But nothing about the timing of this project worked out. And Maria, not a paid model but a kindly accommodating classmate, had a life to live, her own work to make and a studio to change and move around as she needed. This is one of those small (8 x 10”) preparatory studies I made and eventually traded her for a great still life study she made. What I got out of this process was the beginning of a love for painting people in the context of their work — Maria’s dedication and passion palpable as I painted her painting. ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ #aristidesatelier #gageacademy #painterspainting #paintersstudio #artspace #artlife #artstudio #artschool #paintersofinstagram #painters #oilpainting #oilsketch #paintsketch #interiorpainting #artistatwork #classmate #beautifulspace #studiospace #atelier #seattleartist #SeattleArt #seattle #oilpainting #figurepainting #figuresketch #portraiture #portraitpainting #nicelight #naturallight
Friends truly are the light at the end of the tunnel. At the Best of Gage show on Friday night, @jmckeevercrilly and @grantleecrilly, in addition to their presence at my final show, surprised me with a just right gift at the just right moment. A gorgeous framed photo of my studio spot. 😭 Jen took the shot when she came to visit one weekend a few months back. On my easel was the rough beginning to a painting that I really wanted to work out but it was just not gonna. When people would come visit the studio their reaction to this space reminded me of it’s magic. This is what my atelier spot actually looked like when not cleared out for a party. Just a couple of hours after they gave me this photo and many hugs, I completely emptied my studio into my car and drove home for the last time leaving it ready for the next student. All year I’ve wondered how I would feel on that drive home. Would I be exhilarated or depleted? It’s easy to forget that friends can be the X factor. Thanks so much to everyone who came Friday and all those nights in the preceding four years. You propped me up, reminded me who I am and surprised me always with the depths of your support ❤️💥 Jen and Grant, love you both, I want to hang this in every room of my house. ▫️ ▫️ ▫️ ▫️ ▫️ #lovemyfriends #lovemyschool #aristidesatelier #portraitpainting #portraitdrawing #vanitas #classicalrealism #classicalpainting #figuredrawing #artistsofinstagram #figurepainting #artstudio #artspace #painterslife #gageacademy #contemporaryrealism #melissamesser #paintingfromlife #stilllifepainting #contemporaryartist #artstudio #artschool #seattle #seattleartist #seattleart #pnwartist #pnw #goodbyeschool #stillsomuchtolearn
I do and I do not regret failing to take pics during the Best of Gage. This is the calm before the storm -- my cleaned up studio -- because of course the storm was way too crazy with way too many awesome folks dropping by for art and hugs to take pictures of the action. Last show at Gage, last night in my studio space in the Aristides Atelier. A great send off ending a magical four years. ▫️ ▫️ ▫️ ▫️ ▫️ #aristidesatelier #portraitpainting #portraitdrawing #homeawayfromhome #contemporaryartist #gageacademy #artspace #artschool #seattle #seattleart #seattleartist #figuredrawing #figurepainting #artshow #artlife #artshowcase #painting #oilpainting #artistsofinstagram #artstudio #artstudent #bestoftimes #goodbyeschool #painter #mystudio #classicalart #classicalart #classicalrealism #atelier

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