THE ART OF THE PORTRAIT ^® Annual Conference
May 12-15, Washington, D.C.

By Maris Williams

Richard Schmid Portrait Society 2005 Gold Medal Recipient

On Friday morning Gordon Wetmore welcomed an international group of over 700 artists to another sold out Art of the Portrait conference in Washington, D.C. Over 175 of the 400 alumni club members were in attendance and were asked to stand. Gordon also recognized a large contingency from Australia, many of whom were here for a reception and portrait exhibition at the Australian Embassy, which our group attended on Sunday.

It is no wonder that this event continues to sell out each year as members look forward to receiving renewed inspiration and knowledge, the opportunity for being with old and new friends, inspecting and acquiring the latest and best quality art supplies and having their work reviewed by the leading professional experts in our discipline.

Each year there have been some added surprises for attendees and this year was no exception. Who knew that renowned Georgia artist, Tom Nash, was also a song writer, piano player and singer? His hilarious performance of his Portrit Paintin' Blues certainly helped kick the conference off in high spirits. He got a standing ovation!

After introducing and thanking the dedicated faculty and volunteers, Portrait Society Vice Chair, Ed Jonas, recognized our distinguished guests and then presented the 13 finalists. He explained that the usual number of winners was expanded this year because there were so many excellent entries.

Tom Donahue, Secretary/Treasurer of the Portrait Society, announced the Exceptional Merit and Certificates of Excellence Awards selected from the 30 paintings chosen out of more than 1000 entries. Entering the Portrait Society's International competitions and winning awards has had significant effects on the careers of many artists. In this and in other years, several past winners have had their work featured in International Artist magazine as well as joining the faculty, including: Patricia Watwood, Judith Carducci, Peggy Baumgaertner, Loryn Brazier, Robert Liberace, Dawn Whitelaw and Paul Newton.

For the first session, Ed Jonas welcomed this year's Gold Medal winner, Richard Schmid, as he opened the conference with a slide presentation entitled Painting in the Grand Manner. Richard has always viewed art as freedom to paint what one wants to paint and yet he says that you cannot have success without confidence combined with artistic "intelligent design." He encourages artists to think and decide as they paint, as apposed to "just letting feelings come out."

In a delightful presentation entitled, From Tite Street to Tight Spaces, Michael Shane Neal shared slides of the elegant studios of many historical and present day artists, including portrait society members. He began with Sargent's famous Tite Street location and concluded with examples of some very modest spaces in which artists work. He pointed out that Tom Nash, who now has a large, well-equipped studio, painted an award-winning 7' painting in a small room with an 8' ceiling early in his career.

This year many top professional artists in attendance volunteered to review portfolios during the breaks. They were always busy - Tom Edgerton was still there after 2 p.m. talking with a member who was seeking his advice.

Over twenty faculty members offered a variety of sessions on Friday afternoon, from which attendees designed their own schedules. Twelve different sessions offered instruction in marketing, composition and flesh tones, roundtable discussions, critiques by slides and a participatory drawing workshop. These sessions were followed by a reception for artists to meet agents, art magazine editors, and state ambassadors.

Saturday morning Daniel Greene presented one of his remarkable demonstrations as he painted the guest speaker for the banquet, Minnie Churchill. With a dry brush he massed in the lights and shadows and throughout the initial painting, he went back again and again to redraw and "restate the darks." The beautifully projected 9' x 12' screens on each side of the room allowed the audience to see both his painting and the subject at the same time.

During the lunch break attendees could attend a variety of Brown Bag sessions including Art Marketing by Calvin Goodman, Art and the Law by Henry Ward, Professional Portfolios and Promotion led by Loryn Brazier, Peggy Baumgaertner and Laurel Boeck or have their portfolio critiques.

The afternoon program began with the presentation of a video, narrated by F. Murray Abraham, entitled Everett Raymond Kinstler: An Artist's Journey. Mr. Kinstler followed up the viewing of the tape, which is currently being shown on PBS stations around the country, with his comments and then conducted a spirited question and answer session.

Burt Silverman ended the day on a high note with a demonstration entitled A Graphite Colloquy. Silverman explained that a graphite drawing "creates a bridge between you and the client. Both you and the sitter should be comfortable." He also said, "Solid draftsmanship is basic to a good portrait and that demonstrations by the masters illustrate techniques that have been repeatedly proven to succeed."

Saturday evening the Portrait Society Awards Banquet, which had been sold out for more than three months, opened with great anticipation. Several honored guests were present including Elizabeth and John Howard Sanden, Joseph Spencer Tracy, a distinguished artist who is Spencer Tracy's grandson, and Simmie Knox, who recently painted the official White House Portraits of the Clintons. Gordon Wetmore announced the winners of the International Portrait Competition and the top awards went to the following five artists: Romulo Galicano from the Philippines received the Draper Grand Prize, which included a $5,000 cash award donated by Jack Richeson & Company. The Best of Show and Peoples Choice awards were both presented to Joseph Daily from Pennsylvania for his beautiful painting of his father in-law. Mau-kun Yim traveled from Taiwan to receive the First Place award. Paul Newton received Second Place for his portrait of the President of the Australian Senate, Paul Calbert and First Honors was awarded to Steve Craighead from Virginia.

The evening program continued with the presentation of the Leadership in the Fine Arts award to Raymond D. Nasher an arts patron, developer and presidential Appointee. As part of the award, Ed Jonas sculpted a head and shoulders of Mr. Nasher that will be cast in bronze. The clay bust was unveiled on stage and was enthusiastically received by those in attendance. The National Portrait Gallery will acquire the original and another bronze, which is to be cast from the original, will be displayed at the Nasher Museum in Dallas.

Ray Kinstler, while presenting the Excellence in Art Education Award to O. Aldon James of the National Arts Club, explained that the club was set up in 1898 as a place for artists to work. Kinstler stated that the 19 x 20' space he occupied there at age 19, shortly after he got out of the army, made a tremendous difference in his artistic development. During his acceptance speech Club President Aldon James, said "Art belongs to all of the people all of the time and we must be positive that we have prepared our young people for the 21st century."

Ed Jonas then presented the Society's highest honor, the Portrait Society Gold Medal, to Richard Schmid, who described how much it meant to him now, in his 70th year when he said, "This recognition of one's peers is such a beautiful thing. Art has been my constant companion; my true friend and I realize how much I owe to others. . . those who gave their confidence in me. I agree with the guy who said that without art, we would all be back in the trees."

Minnie Churchill, the keynote speaker for Saturday's banquet, spent 6 years locating all of Winston's Churchill's more than 500 paintings. When she married his grandson in the 1950s, she was unaware of Sir Winston's art. The mother of the only two heirs of the legendary Churchill name, she is now the Director of the Churchill Heritage.

On Sunday morning beginning at 8 A.M., the vendors were open, there were several book signings, John and Elizabeth Sanden conducted the Inspirational Hour with standing room only and the annual Membership Meeting was held.

At the Membership Meeting, Christine Egnoski praised the successful State Ambassador Program and announced a new endeavor - The Cecelia Beaux Forum. Ed Jonas presented an overview of this new initiative for encouraging and addressing the specific concerns of women artists. Judith Carducci was appointed to the first Chair and in this capacity will also serve as a representative on the Executive Board of the Society. In addition Christine presented 2004-2005 Member of the Year trophies to Herb Mays and Maris Williams for their many hours of volunteer time.

Good humor helped to wrap up the Sunday sessions when Bart Lindstrom, in a comedic Sunday "sermon" entitled Don't Look into the Shadows, admonished us all to "shun our artistic sins," which included "not painting from life, exhibiting paintings that should have been thrown away, not fixing paintings, substituting other colors while working on a painting when the colors needed have been used up, and 'tickling' a painting to death." The conference always combines healthy laughter with practical advice, information and encouragement -a perfect recipe for artists in need of inspiration.

Michael Shane Neal then introduced Dawn Whitelaw, who, he says, "has probably produced more professional artists than anyone I know." Dawn demonstrated an oil painting, beginning with a quick charcoal drawing. These days, she limits her palette to Cadmium Yellow light, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red or Naptha Red, and Ultramarine Green, all mixed into various combinations and values. She uses only the primary colors to concentrate more completely on values and says that she sometimes thinks all portrait artists should do so.

Many attendees joined the trip to the Australian Embassy and the National Gallery of Art. Pleased with the smooth operation of the conference and the interesting variety of classes and sessions, during the weekend many members were already making plans for the 2006 event in Dallas which quickly gained over 25% enrollment before the 2005 closing ceremony.

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