Stephen Bennett Portrait Painter

I used this photo in my beginner oil painting class last night to illustrate the importance of values to my students. Showing students gets through to them more when they can see examples of what you're talking about. I'm only halfway through the class and I'm quite sure I've already worn out the word values. I explained to them that you can be off with your colors but you really need to get your values down pretty close.  I use Stephen's paintings to illustrate the point that you can change the colors all you want as long as you get the values correct. I showed them how he replaces hues in his paintings with these vivid colors but because he keeps the values correct, you can still recognize forms as a face.

If you're not familar with Stephen Bennett's work, please visit his web site. A strange thing happened a few weeks after I discovered his work. I was driving to my painting class with Stuart Dunkel and I was stopped at a intersection and as I looked to my right, I saw one of Stephen's paintings or perhaps a reproduction on the wall in a business. Really strange coincidence!

http://theportraitpainter.com/web/index.html

Here's one of my all-time favorite paintings by Stephen:

Djalu Gurruwiwi,

Caretaker of the Yidaki

Acrylic on canvas

80 x 64 inches

Terry Stickland: Exceptional Fine Artist

"The Ascent" ~ Terry Strickland

I've been a follower of Terry for some time now and I felt it necessary to give her mention on my blog because I love her work. She paints beautifully and I love the emotion she brings forth in her work not matter how subtle.

Terry has a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Central Florida. She has had a very diverse art career, working as an illustrator, teacher, silk screen artist, and a courtroom sketch artist.  Some of her clients have included ABC Televsion, Sea World and Busch Gardens just to name a few.  She is now devoting her time working full time as a painter.

At the time of this article I'm hoping that I might be able to afford her two classes that are coming on on November 13th and 14th at the Gadsden Art Museum in Gadsden, Alabama. You can book a spot by calling(256) 546-7365. Please visit Terry's web site for information and to view her work at:  http://www.terrystricklandart.com/ or visit her blog at: www.terrystricklandart.blogspot.com/

Terry writes on her website, "I consider intangibles, challenging myself to capture small nuance in relationships, life, death, and love. Much of my work is about transitions, whether it is a midlife juncture or coming of age as a universal truth. These paintings are decisions reflected and possibilities contemplated. I'm frequently inspired by fairy tales, superheroes, or works of literature, and reexamine them in a contemporary way." 

It's the small nuaces that Terry mentions that draw me to her work.   I love the way she conveys the emotions in the subjects of her portraits.  Please pay a visit to her web site and her blog, her work is must see!