|
|
|
||
|
www.tompinch.com |
|||
|
Studio: (951) 699-0473 Fax: (951) 699-5482 Email: tom@tompinch.com |
|||
|
Greetings Art Enthusiast: This e-Newsletter is brought to you by oil portrait and figure artist Tom Pinch. Every month we'll bring you news from inside and outside the artist's studio. Please visit Pinch's website (click link above) to view additional images of recent paintings and to view pricing information. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Born in Chicago in 1934, Schmid was heavily influenced by his grandfather, Julian Oates, an architectural sculptor. Schmid began drawing and painting at a young age.
He received his academic training at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and since then, has won almost all of the major art awards in the United States.
Some of his honors include the American Watercolor Society’s gold medal and the $100,000 National Arts in the Parks award for his painting “Rocky
Mountain National Park-Mountain Stream” which was featured on the first official National Park Stamp in 1988.
Richard Schmid has influenced thousands of artists throughout his long and distinguished career. He has published books on subjects such as landscape painting and painting the nude.
His works have been the subject of fifty one person shows, and are in collections at the Smithsonian Institute, The Butler Institute of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The National Academy of Design, and many others.
|
|||
|
Pinch states, "he has had the strongest artistic influence over me by a very wide margin. I'm very excited to travel back to Washington D.C. in May and witness him being awarded the Gold medal for lifetime artistic achievement from the Portrait Society of America."
"Richard Schmid has almost single-handedly inspired me to paint and raise my personal goals very high through his incredible body of work of over 50 years.
And, for years now, I've also enjoyed spending countless hours pouring over his well-written technical books, videos and DVDs on the subject of handling the medium of oil paint."
"And, one little-known fact, Schmid does not accept commissions of any kind, at any price. He simply paints whatever inspires him and then sells them at prices such that you would think you were purchasing a new car. He has made this career formula work for decades, and his artwork has been stronger because of it."
"I've had the pleasure of meeting Schmid on a handful of art-related occasions, all but one of which were in New York. That one exception occurred last year when I traveled to The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio for the sole purpose of seeing his 'Retrospective.' It was fascinating to see roughly 70 original paintings of his up close. And, being the gentlemen he is, he answered many of my questions about some of his
paintings on display."
"It was also during that 'Retrospective' that Schmid put on a slide show exhibition of hundreds of his works painted at various times throughout his illustrious career. The images were an absolute feast for the eyes - it literally left me speechless and emotionallly drained. Each painting was unique and more stunning than the one before it. The inspiration I've gained from him over the years is immeasurable."
"One of the biggest surprises when examining Schimd's work comes when you take a close look at one of his originals, such as 'Cumbrian Waterfall, Scotland.' You could never imagine how much fine detail his works actually lack -
The depth of his painted images is unparalleled as he guides the viewer's eye right where he wants it to go. So many artists paint from one edge of the canvas to the other with an equal level of fine detail, and their paintings are much weaker as a result. Schmid has proven, beyond a shadow of any possible doubt, that less is truly more."
"For example, take a close look at this still life on the right entitled 'Roses Of Light.' His brushwork is so crafty and appears so effortless as he leads your eyes directly to the center of interest - the roses - due to his loose and seemingly careless (don't kid yourself) dashes of background color which are lower in overall value. Schmid is truly a master in every sense of the word."
"And, as if his technique alone is not enough, here's another little fact about Richard Schmid that continues to floor me. He is a true 'A
"In this beautiful work on the left, entitled 'Chicken', notice the intense use of color of the young girl holding her chicken. And, as you look further into the painting, notice that there are many places within her red sweater alone that are incomplete, such as with her left arm (on viewer's right), and the edge of her right elbow which collides with a loose background stoke that has been thinned down with turpentine. Schmid brilliantly views the items
that could have been more clearly defined as unnecessary details to be eliminated or treated in a loose or painterly manner - and he does it in every painting."
"In the painting below, entitled 'Nan', Schmid again displays his economy of brushstokes and the power that employing his technique can deliver. The painting is full of very thin washes and an equal number of 'drybrush' strokes. This work, as with every other work of his, also has many 'lost edges' which is a term used to describe any area in a painting where two shapes come together and form an edge -
"One such lost edge occurs where her left sleeve (on viewer's right) spills over onto her crossed leg. Another more subtle lost edge occurs under her chin where the edge of the shadow is lost as it blends with the collar of her shirt. There are many more lost edges. Can you spot them? How about the lost edge between the bottom fingers on her left hand and the shadow that is cast below them - or where the two sides of her black shirt come
together in the front just above her hands. Schmid's works don't look strong and powerful by accident, and these are but a few of the things he pays very close attention to while painting each wonderful piece. And he does it very fast."
"Many other areas in this particular painting have edges that are softened to varying degrees and there are hard edges to be found as well. Can you spot the soft and hard edges? You won't find too many hard edges such as the ones used on her bracelet and under her first finger on her right hand, but you'll find plenty of soft ones. That's why his paintings look so natural. As you and I look around at people and things in our daily routines, we
don't stop to focus on the edge detail. The visual result of not focusing on edges is a softening of them until such time that we begin to look very closely - then (depending on available light) the hard edges emerge in that singular area of focus. But everything else in our peripheral vision remains very soft. That's only natural because we can't focus on more than one thing at a time. Schmid knows this and uses it to his full advantage when creating his compositions and
rendering them in his unmistakable style."
"Richard Schimd is very deserving of the Gold medal he will be presented by the Portrait Society of America this upcoming May 15 in Washington D.C. I'm just glad that I'll be there to hear his eloquent acceptance speech once again, and to view another stunning slide show of his works. And, I'll possibly sneak in a few more questions to him about the permanence of the new varieties of Alizarin Crimson or to ask how many coats of acrylic gesso he uses when
priming his canvases, or just to tell him once again what his artwork means to me and how I continue strive to emulate his loose and fluid style. I've already told him (smiling) that I'm going to take over where he leaves off and, for that, I got a smile and a nice chuckle in return."
"Congratulations Richard - you're number one in my book." |
|||
|
The chrome-laden, bright colored gallery-on-wheels shown here is owned by Pinch and is ready and available to visit your business or residence by appointment, day or night, 7 days a week. Displaying up to 20 (+/-) original works by the Artist under dimmer-controlled track lighting is what this unique structure was custom-designed to do. With specially designed window and vent
inserts, the inside of this gallery can achieve full "black-out" (i.e. total darkness) conditions even under full mid-day sun allowing Pinch to completely control the interior lighting day and night. Pinch's mobile art gallery is fully equipped with, among other features, hardwood parquet flooring, carpeted
walls, track lighting, air conditioner, heater and satellite music system. Along with a powerful 7,000 watt generator, it is completely self-contained. Also on hand are Pinch's digital camera and tripod, professional portrait lighting system, computer and color printer, a computer projection system and a 7' projection screen.
And, if you would like to learn more, allow Pinch to pull down the projection screen and show you additional images of other artists work as well as his. Seeing a broad variety of artwork may help you decide what subject and compositional options are best for you. Remember, there is no risk of being disappointed as Pinch offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all commissioned artwork.
To schedule an appointment at a time and location that are convenient for you, simply call Pinch's studio phone number listed below, or send him an e-mail. |
|||
|
Thanks for reading and we'll see you next month - www.tompinch.com |
|||
|
Studio: (951) 699-0473 Fax: (951) 699-5482 Email: tom@tompinch.com |
|||
|
If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, please reply to this message with Unsubscribe in the subject line.
|
|||
On May 14, 2005, in the beautiful Hyatt Regency Reston Hotel located in Washington D.C., the Portrait Society of America will once again award their highest honor on a very deserving artist. That Saturday evening will feature their annual gala banquet and awards ceremony in the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency, where they will present the Gold medal to Richard Schmid.
but that's the wonder of his brilliance. He 'implies' so much of the detail with an economical number of loosely painted strokes
along with his complete control of values. Up close, they appear quite rough and unblended. The term impressionist definitely suits him, and yet his works also have an absolute degree of realism about them."
lla Prima' artist in the sense that he paints from life and completes all of his works in a single sitting usually lasting anywhere from 2 to 4 hours - then he signs it and it's done! Give me a break!"
yet the edge that separates them is indistinguishable due to his choices in color, value and brushwork. If they are overused, the painting will lack structure. If underused, the painting will appear unnatural as too many 'hard edges' give artwork a look as if each area of focus were cut from a magazine and pasted
on. Richard Schmid always uses the perfect combination of soft, hard and lost edges."