Dean Lamont Mitchell: Paintings in Black History Month

 

 Since February is Black History Month, I like to select an artist or a movement of the culture. This time, the artist is contemporary and some of his subjects are landscapes and architecture. 

However, he also creates wonderful portraits in genre of his culture. His name is Dean Lamont Mitchell, (1957-) and his media is watercolor, oil, egg tempera and pastel.

 

Mitchell was born in PA, but grew up in FL. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be an artist. Although money was tight, by age 12, he managed to buy himself a set of oils. His talent was unquestionable and he won awards in his first competition!

When Mitchell was accepted at the Columbus School of Art & Design in Ohio, he earned money by teaching art at a Boy's Club. Clearly, his professional path was set for a life as a visual artist.

 

Confident of his ability, he began to enter his paintings at national and international art competitions. In a short period passing, he was gaining top recognition, receiving first prize at London, England. He'd go on to receive over 200 awards including some of the most prestigious exhibits.

 

 

Today, Mitchell is represented by galleries in FL, WY, KY, SC and CA. No wonder since his art is not only exceptional, but very relatable. (Because he is so talented in different subjects, throughout and below is a small sampling of his subjects.)

Anna Alma-Tadema: The Art of the Details

 

There are artists, especially pencil or charcoal artists, with the most amazing portraits done in great and astonishing detail. Minute detail in painting is not as common these days as it was pre-photography days. In those days, patronage required that the artist paint the riches of the patrons.

With the advent of photography, artists were free to paint in more abstract ways. Yet, there were a certain number of artists, who were trained in the importance of detail and remained highly regarded. One such artist was Anna Alma-Tadema (1867-1943) (Self-portrait on left)

Anna was raised in a family of artists. Her father, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, shared with her his love and success in detail painting. He went about decorating their home as a Roman villa, which offered much detail for Anna to paint. 

She was so good in her use of watercolor, goache and graphite recreating these sumptious rooms that by age 18, she was exhibiting professionally. She also painted flowers, portraits and buildings - always with an eye to detail.

Anna was a suffragette who never married. Her dedication was to her art and her family. She continued to exhibit her work for 40 years (1885-1928) in the most prestigous venues. By the time her father died, the market for such detailed art had collapsed.. She eked out a living after 1928, but those works are unknown. 

Soon Y. Warren: Watercolorist Extraordinaire

 As I've commented before, it seems that water color artists are some of the most skilled painters. I've tried water color, but I like to change my mind as I paint. Water color requires a lot of advanced planning. 

The water colorists, whose works I've recently found to be awe-producing, is Soon Y. Warren. She was born in South Korea and migrated to the United States in 1987. By 1998, she had reached a level of perfection as to teach her medium to others.

Warren is in many collections, often receives top honors at exhibits, writes books on painting and teaches via videos.

For this blog, instead of a lot of bio, I'd prefer to let the art speak for itself. Enjoy!

In case I've given your the impression that her only subjects are still lives and flowers, here's a couple of others to show the scope of her subjects and talent.