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We are just days away from the 22nd edition of the Portrait Society of America Convention, which will be held in a completely new way from August 27 to 30, 2020, with a live webinar, given the brutal revolution that Covid-19 has brought. The Portrait Society of America is a non-profit art organization founded in 1998 by Edward Jonas, Gordon Wetmore and Tom Donahue. It is governed by an Executive Council and Advisory Board, which includes James Gurney, Rhoda Sherbell, Burton Silverman, Mary Whyte and the recently deceased Daniel Greene. Created with the aim of promoting the art of portraiture, figurative art and traditional contemporary art through art programs and publications, the Portrait Society of America is dedicated to providing educational resources to all those who are curious about technical information, aesthetics in traditional art and the history of portrait and figurative art. It has 2750 members from around the world.
This year the spotlight will be on the multi-mentionned world event that will involve one of the greatest figurative artists of contemporary art, Robert Liberace, with whom the Portrait Society of America intends to break the record for the “Day of figurative drawing”, which aims to reach an audience of 10,000 people, during which the artist will give one of his wonderful lessons lasting 3 hours.
But that’s not all.
This year the teachers’ list includes: Anna Rose Bain, Chantel Barber, Bebe Barnard, Suchitra Bhosle, Scott Burdick, Rick Casali, Casey Childs, Joseph Daily, Michelle Dunaway, Tina Garrett, Thomas Caleb Goggans, Quang Ho, David Kassan, Shana Levenson, Liz Lindstrom, Susan Lyon, Robert Liberace, Michael Shane Neal, Richard Christian Nelson, Mardie Rees, Anthony Ryder, Burton Silverman, Daniel Sprick, Sharon Sprung, Adrienne Stein, Mary Whyte and Elizabeth Zanzinger.
A general overview of artistic excellence to which will be added equally interesting events that will make it difficult, in the afternoon program, the choice of which program to follow. The convention will start with a pre-conference activity (optional) that will start, on August 25th and 26th, days during which you can visit the art studios of the artists: Quang Ho, Michael Shane Neal and Adrienne Stein, who will “peek” into their creative spaces.
August 27th will be the first regular day of the meeting: after the official opening of the 22nd edition, by Mary White, Robert Liberace’s big event will take place (from 4:30 to 7:30 PM ET). On August 28th in the morning, Anthony Ryder will give a live painting demonstration. This will be followed in the afternoon by a meeting with Anna Rose Bain, Quang Ho, Daniel Sprick and Adrienne Stein. After that it will be possible to choose to participate in a series of events including: a technical demonstration with Michael Shane Neal to learn the essential components of the anatomy of the hands that represent one of the most expressive (and most complex) parts of the human figure; the meeting with Chantel Barber, Bebe Barnard, Thomas Caleb Goggans and Liz Lindstromt: four experienced professionals who have navigated in the field of portraiture and will be able to give advice and suggestions; and finally the seminar with Rick Casali who will explain the different planes of the head through a 3-D portrait demo: the artist will in fact use clay to cover the anatomy of the skull and neck highlighting the facial features and geometric planes essential to create a timeless portrait.
On August 29th the day begins with an interview with Michelle Dunaway, followed by a meeting with Sharon Sprung who will teach an approach that simplifies the complexity of understanding hue, value and chroma in skin tones and the demonstration of Scott Burdick and Susan Lyon who will put into practice what most captures their attention in the representation of the face and figure. The afternoon will continue with a choice of events: Suchitra Bhosle’s demonstration that, while exploring what gives rise to portraits that reveal the character and spirit of the person will illustrate how similarity does not simply mean “aesthetic similarity” but includes trying to understand the inner involvement, which reveals the character and spirit of the person represented; Joseph Daily and Richard Christian Nelson will talk about innovative materials and manufacturing processes that will allow artists to take inspiration for the creation of powerful works of art; finally, Elizabeth Zanzinger, who in the demonstration of “alla prima” portrait with a live model, will talk about her approach to the use of colour which she knows how to be lively but at the same time reliable, in portraiture.
On August 30th, the last day of the convention, the day opens with Mary White who will answer your questions about the commercial side of art, which includes: pricing the artwork, marketing, planning the time needed to paint, whether or not you need an agent and other study practices; Burton Silverman will be the protagonist of a great retrospective to which the session is dedicated: an extraordinary artist who continues to prosper and he is considered one of the most important artists of our time; finally David Kassan and Shana Levenson (a couple united on the screen and husband and wife in life) will explore the theme of exploring the complexities and character traits of children in artistic representation. The afternoon will be as usual a choice, there will be: “A look into my process and my painting” with the great artist Daniel Sprick who will talk about how his artistic evolution has been and what is fundamental for him in the artistic process; Mardie Rees, Anna Rose Bain and Tina Garrett will talk about art and social networks: which platforms to use and how to make the most of them to effectively market both the artist and his work; lastly Scott Burdick and Susan Lyon will share their knowledge and insights in the interpretation of some works that will be presented by the participants (the number of people who will participate is limited for the presentation of the works and is instead unlimited for the listening audience).
Although it has been a revolutionary year that has radically changed people’s lives and projects, forcing them to adapt to new means of communication that are able to reach everywhere, the Portrait Society of America has managed to organize a very rich and eventful convention: both in terms of organization and resources made available to better exploit the conditions and communication with the public. In anticipation of the 2020 Convention, however, please note that the 23rd edition of the Portrait Society of America has already been organized, which will take place at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Washington from May 6 to 9, 2021.
For those who have not yet registered, you are invited to go to: https://www.portraitsociety.org/annual-conference and register as soon as possible given the short time available before the start of the event.
(from the title: Beads by Robert Liberace. Oil on canvas).
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