January 20, 2023 / Eye on the Collective
A Roundup of Recent International Competition Achievements by
FAA Alumni
An inside look at the artworks by FAA artists that were awarded as winners in international competitions in 2022 and early 2023
Looking back on the past year, artists of The FAA Collective (graduates, faculty, and students of The Florence Academy of Art) had an amazing go in the international fine art competition circuit! Back in October we shared an Eye on the Community highlighting the achievements of FAA Collective Artists in the competitions of the year to date.
Before we step too far into 2023, we would like to present you with the exceptional works by FAA Collective community members who were awarded as finalists and winners in various categories for their paintings, drawings, and sculptures in 2022 and early 2023.
Below you will be able to view artworks by FAA artists who were selected to exhibit in the Society of Portrait Sculptors FACE 2022 Exhibition, the Oil Painters of America Fall Showcase, the Portrait Society of America’s 2022 Members Only Competition.
Stay tuned for a brand new feature all about the Art Renewal Center’s 16th Salon Competition and 2022 Scholarship Competition, as well as read some words from the artists themselves about their selected pieces.
A hearty congratulations to all of our awarded artists!
Portrait Society of America
2022 Members Only Competition
The Portrait Society of America (PSA) is a registered charity, formed as an educational organization dedicated to furthering the traditions of fine art portraiture and figurative art through programs and publications. In fall of 2022 they held the 18th annual Members Only Portrait Competition, and we are pleased to share that FAA graduate Carla Paine received First Place in the Non-Commissioned Portrait category for her painting Girl Seated in a Rocking Chair!
To learn more about the PSA please visit: www.portraitsociety.org
Portrait Society of America
2022 Members Only Competition
The Portrait Society of America (PSA) is a registered charity, formed as an educational organization dedicated to furthering the traditions of fine art portraiture and figurative art through programs and publications. In fall of 2022 they held the 18th annual Members Only Portrait Competition, and we are pleased to share that FAA graduate Carla Paine received First Place in the Non-Commissioned Portrait category for her painting Girl Seated in a Rocking Chair!
To learn more about the PSA please visit: www.portraitsociety.org
Carla Paine, “Girl Seated in a Rocking Chair”
Oil on linen, 24 x 34 in.
Oil Painters of America
The OPA Fall Showcase
Oil Painters of America (OPA), founded in 1991, is a non-for-profit organization representing more than 3,500 artists throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The OPA is dedicated to preserving and promoting excellence in representational art, and its primary focus is to draw attention to the lasting value of fine drawing, color, composition and the appreciation of light.
One of the main missions of OPA is to advance the cause of traditional, representational fine art by providing a forum in which artists can display their art in regional and national competitions. The OPA Online Showcase is a rolling exhibition, with awards offered three times per year in the Fall, Spring, and Summer. Recently, in the Fall 2022 Showcase, FAA graduate Jane Manco received First Place for her painting A New Beginning!
To learn more about OPA please visit: www.oilpaintersofamerica.com
Jane Manco
“A New Beginning”
Oil on canvas
20 x 16 in.
2020
Jane Manco
“A New Beginning”
Oil on canvas
20 x 16 in.
2020
Society of Portrait Sculptors
FACE 2022 (59th Exhibition)
The Society of Portrait Sculptors (SPS) is a representative body of professional sculptors committed to making portrait and figurative sculpture accessible to a wider public. The aims of The Society are to advance the art of three-dimensional and bas-relief portraiture; to maintain, promote and encourage the highest standards; to challenge preconceptions about portrait sculpture and to stimulate increased interest in an art form that is timeless yet contemporary. To achieve this The Society works in several ways but primarily through its Annual Open Exhibition and by seeking to encourage education and training in the art through lectures, prizes and sculpture classes.
This Open Exhibition is the only forum for contemporary portrait sculpture in the UK and consists of about 70 sculptures of which approximately one third is chosen from open submission from non-members. It is an international exhibition and open to entries worldwide. This year several FAA graduates and faculty members were selected to exhibit in FACE 2022! Check below to see the works and a few words from the artists about their subjects.
To learn more about the SPS please visit: www.portrait-sculpture.org
Bayasgalan Batmagnai
Narration (Portrait of D. Uriankhai), mixed medium
“A Mongolian writer Uriankhai Damdinsuren. He was a winner of the Asian Literature Award, part of the main program of the Asian Literature Festival.” – Bayasgalan Batmagnai
Maudie Brady
Queen, Hydro-resin
“Francesca is from Napoli. Her strength of character, resilience and pride, along with a hint of vulnerability attracted me to sculpt her.” – Maudie Brady
Charlotte Bruhnes
Maïmouna Dieng, Bronze
“Maïmouna, who I got to meet in Paris is half French and half Senegalese. I immediately wanted to capture in clay her power and beauty.” – Charlotte Bruhnes
Light Ray – Full Figure, Bronze
Light Ray – Bust, Resin
“Evelina is a young Italian woman who studies philosophy in Florence. As well as being a student, she works as a model.” – Jana Büttner
As I knew from the start that I was going to leave the imprimatura as the background for this piece, I had even more time and attention to pay to the robin itself. I began by triangulating my values – placing a paint notation for my lightest light, my darkest dark and then determining where between those two values the core shadow plane values lay. After triangulating these key values, I blocked in all of the colour-values of the bird, as thinly and simply as possible and working generally from dark to light. I used exclusively sable filberts for this stage of the process, as they give me just the right type of thin, yet opaque paint application with soft edges between value groups. Once all of the bird was blocked in, I took some time to readdress the drawing, which inevitably falls behind during the block-in stage. And then I began to build up the impastos (thick applications of paint) with stiff hog-bristle brushes. These impastos both expand the value range of the lights and describe the forms of the subject in a very sculptural way. Next I focused in on some selective details, concentrating very deeply on the forms of the face and the feet in particular. And lastly, after taking a break from the painting to refresh my eyes, I attempted to bring everything to a cohesive resolution; this is the crucial stage in which I try to view the painting as a whole again, softening and quieting down some areas whilst adding sharp or high-contrast accents in others in order to control the flow of the eye and the focus through the painting.
And this brings me to the end of my process. I hope that the portrait may have a similar effect on others as the process of painting it had on me, which is simply to give delight and perhaps a sense of reverence in contemplating the beauty of the robin, and also the abstract qualities of the oil paint that has created the illusion.” – Sarah Margaret Gibson
More about Sarah Margaret Gibson
Sarah Margaret Gibson (b. 1988) is from Cincinnati, OH.
Sarah Margaret is a contemporary realist artist, specialising in portraits of people and birds. Characterised by a rich tenebrism, Gibson’s work dramatically juxtaposes light against shadow. She believes that light, and all of its symbolic qualities, are most poetic when contrasted against dark. Building up her paintings from a series of fine layers—contrasting heavy impastos against thin, delicate passages—she seeks to give her works a palpable depth and complexity. She aims to capture the personality and life-force of her subjects. Opening up a dialogue with nature through her work, she responds to what she finds beautiful and endeavours to communicate this through the medium of oil paint.
Gibson received her formal training in drawing and painting in Florence, Italy. She studied at the Angel Academy of Art from 2008-2010, and then completed the full three-year program at The Florence Academy of Art, from which she graduated in 2013. She taught at the Florence Academy’s intermediate studio from 2012-2015. Over the course of her seven years in Florence, Gibson was profoundly influenced by the work and philosophy of the Old Masters and by the mentorship of great living artists such as Daniel Graves, founder of the Florence Academy.
Gibson currently lives on the West coast of Scotland with her husband and fellow Florence Academy alumnus, Lee Craigmile. In 2019 they co-founded the Glasgow Academy of Fine Art, where Gibson acts as Academic Director. She splits her time between teaching at the Academy, painting in her private studio and fulfilling her responsibilities as Ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation.
Gibson’s work is shown throughout the U.S. and Europe and can be found in both the New Britain Museum of American Art and in the New Salem Museum of Art, as well as in numerous private collections.
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An inside look at the artworks by FAA artists that were awarded as finalists and winners in international competitions this year to date.
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