With my most heartfelt thanks to Michael Gormley, Julia Baughman and everyone at
Portraits, Inc. for making this wonderful article a reality!
The third in my series of portraits of my mentors and artist friends who have made a positive impact in my art life - Burt Silverman is truly my view of an American icon in the art world, and a man who embodies authenticity in every aspect of what he does.
American Artist Project: How to Paint the Master
By Michael Gormley
Portrait of Burton Silverman, oil, 28" x 28"
Like an exploding universe in a
creationist narrative, our rapidly expanding and fragmenting
contemporary art world has birthed an array of focused constellations
comprising like-minded souls connected by a shared singleness of
purpose. Painters and patrons primarily interested in realist
representation and the human form comprise one such magnetic grouping.
Like an actual solar system (metaphorically speaking), this mass of
independent bodies seeks out and encircles radiant energy sources--the
rare stars that shine brightly in the darkness.
Imagine now (in living color) the concentric rings and artistic circles buzzing around Burton Silverman--
the ever wise master artist and attentive mentor to countless hopeful
painters. Can you further imagine expressing the essence of that
guiding light in a painting? Chris Saper has; she has
just completed a stunning portrait of her beloved Silverman—the third
work in a series of portraits she has painted of artist colleagues and
mentors that have had a significant impact on her artistic life. Saper
remarks, “How better to express my appreciation and gratitude to these
artists than to paint them.”
A tall order indeed, yet if Silverman’s
portrait is any indication, Saper’s subjects are in for a big treat and
not a few surprises. Right off, she gets high marks for nailing
Silverman’s knowing wit and peerless gaze. Yup, it’s Silverman all
right-- looking straight at you and through you as only Silverman can.
Saper adds, “I first met Burt Silverman nearly 20 years ago and
subsequently studied with him at the Scottsdale Artists School. He
remains a daily inspiration, both for his work and for the man he is.
The challenge of painting Burt was managing the insecurity that he would
find the work lacking. It was a real struggle to keep the creation of
the work separate from his response to it. But that’s the inherent risk
in painting my mentors – with whom I’ve shared the paintings – is to be
able to take in any insights they might have without subjugating the
portraits to their opinions. They are my mentors – I am not theirs. I
have described Burt as brilliant, charming and delightfully irreverent.
I trust him to be direct about his response.”
One such response Silverman made about
his portrait is testament to his keen sensitivity in regards to
aesthetic choices, the chase after verisimilitude, and genuine plastic
expression. Saper notes that Silverman (quoting the great John Sloan)
questioned the painting's compositional value range. She adds, “He
asked me if the work had an underlying design scheme and if that
painterly expression was dynamic enough to support my intention for the
work to have life.” I applaud the question and I’ll risk stating that
Saper rises to the occasion. The work offers a wonderful play of light
and dark passages which focuses Silverman’s head and tilts it forward
into the picture plane and (symbolically) the viewer’s space. This
‘leaning in’ gesture is intimate – perhaps too intimate. Saper guesses
correctly that some viewers (like her) may find this full frontal
engagement with the Sage a little invasive. Our eyes need a place to
wander—or we’ll abandon the work. So Saper situates Silverman within a
compositional scheme that keeps our eyes moving within the picture
frame. But be forewarned-- the lighted window situated in the rear is
but a temporary repose as the march of paintings up the far wall are
meant to bring our eyes back in lock with Silverman’s.
Hence, there is a larger narrative being
worked out with the Silverman painting than employing portraiture as a
genuine means to pay homage to an adored master (though at first glance
it is certainly that). The Silverman portrait demonstrates that the
student has gone beyond learning the master’s lessons--she has made them
her own. How does that idea get translated pictorially? In this
instance Saper offers an optical pathway that tames the master’s gaze
and thereby neutralizes his critique.
The artist is now free. Well not
really; the ascending challenge now shifts to the artist assuming a
self-imposed responsibility to hold culture’s course and advance the
practice of excellence—be that painting or portraiture or any expressive
art form. Saper concludes, “Painting Burt carried for me both challenge
and freedom. Certainly freedom, because my goal was not to please him
with a commission, where my ability to pay my Visa bill hangs in the
balance…but precisely because it does not. My freedom lay in
envisioning, designing and executing a piece that caused me to stretch
artistically, and to convey what was in my heart and mind.”
Notes on the American Artist Project:
Burt Silverman's portrait is the third piece in Saper's American Artists
series. She expects there will be 7 or 8 paintings in the series.
Most of the portraits are of colleagues who are also mentors, but will
also include artists who have had a non-mentoring but positive impact on
her art life. They are all entitled, "XXX: American Artist." To date
Saper has painted portraits of Kirk Larsen and William Whitaker, and has
reference photos ready to go for portraits of Ann Manry Kenyon, John
Howard Sanden and Jamie Lee McMahan. For more information about Chris
Saper, contact Portraits, Inc. by phone at 800-476-1223 or by e-mail at info@portraitsinc.com.
Michael Gormley is a painter, writer, curator and regular contributor to the Portraits, Inc. blog. Gormley was the editor of American Artist magazine and most recently created the fine art catalog for Craftsy--an online education platform.
Portraits, Inc. was
founded in 1942 in New York on Park Avenue. Over its 70-year history,
Portraits, Inc. has carefully assembled a select group of the world’s
foremost portrait artists offering a range of styles and prices.
Recognized as the industry leader, Portraits, Inc. provides expert
guidance for discerning clients interested in commissioning fine art
portraits.
