ART EDUCATION 2-day academy at Butler to teach portrait painting

Artists Burton Silverman and Jada Rowland will offer their expertise.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
A fine portrait artist conveys the subtleties of a person's likeness, creating a realistic depiction of him or her. Though this may be the most recognized art form, it can take a lifetime to perfect.
Valley residents have the opportunity to learn from two of the art world's better-known portrait artists Saturday and next Sunday. The Butler Institute of American Art will host artists Burton Silverman and Jada Rowland for a portrait academy. The nonprofit organization, The Portrait Society of America, administers the academy.
Silverman presents his techniques at Saturday's all-day academy. Rowland's workshop takes place the next day.
Aspiring artists high school age and older and anyone interested in removing some of the mystery from portrait painting may attend.
"It's basically a demonstration, and the artist can sit there and watch him/her do step by step from the very beginning," said Gordon Wetmore, chairman of The Portrait Society.
Referring to the first portrait academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., he said, "This artist didn't, and I don't think any of them do, take anything for granted. He explained every little detail. What brush he used as if you don't know a think about it. He doesn't assume a thing. Yet, he goes into it in such depth, if you've been painting for 20 years, you'll learn a lot. I did and I've been painting for 34 years."
Value of teaching
Though Wetmore joked that the academy is "training their competition," he does see merit in instructing others in portrait painting.
"The truth of the matter is that the great artists are teachers. There's something about teaching that really consolidates your own abilities. It's such a difficult thing to do, to paint portraiture that someone who knows how had better show you or you will take a lot longer or never learn how to do it," said Wetmore.
This is the first year that the 6-year-old organization is having regional academies. Youngstown is one of three locations in the country to offer these artistic instructions. According to Christine Egnoski, executive director of the Portrait Society, the decision to hold these academies was twofold.
"Each spring we hold an annual conference. We wanted to reach out to some artists that may not be able to travel each year and take four days out of their schedule. We decided on an outreach program where we would go to some cities around the United States and present the program on a day-and-a-half situation where we could do demonstrations and slides, a lecture of someone's career, a question-and-answer session and portfolio reviews," she said.
"We also wanted to reach out to young people, high school and university, but mostly high school at a time when they are trying to make a decision about what they want to do [with their careers]."
Kathy Earnhart, director of public relations at the Butler, views bringing this program here as a win-win situation for local artists and the museum.
"The Butler is an educational institution, so anything we can do to draw attention to our collection and get people to know that this museum is here and open to them [is a good thing]," she said. "Art inspires art."