Ye Olde Classmates: James Jean

Another towering figure in our graduating class was James Jean. I did not really realize the magnitude of his popularity until I started showing his work to my students, and he happened to be a hero of many of them. We shared a few friends and painted together a few times, but I didn't get to know him all that well. Sometimes he would bring a trumpet to class and play, which was good fun. He always, always, always, was sketching everyone and everything.

Although he has found great success as an illustrator, he is the envy of all kinds of draftsmen.

This was always my favorite.



An old student piece. I think this is from one of our classes, but I can't remember.



James posts his sketchbooks on his site, and you can flip through page by page. Pretty fun. He actually sells them, and even publishes books of his sketches that you can buy on his website.





A 9/11 sketch. I tried to do one too from midtown, but didn't get anything.


I need to see James's sketches more often, and they always inspire me to crack open the moleskin. Is there any greater master of the sketchbook? I think he's the reigning champion.





Breathtaking.



What, does he live on an airplane?



Another old one, apparently on paper.

Another one from Steve Assael's class. The light on the female figure is a dead giveaway. Gorgeous, beautiful paintings. Wow.

Ye Olde Classmates: Michael Lierly

Michael Lierly is one of my all-time favorite people and one of my best friends. We were classmates in Savannah and New York, and both got our MFA at Indiana University. He teaches at University of Arkansas at Little Rock this semester, but will soon be Moving to Austin, Texas. Formerly a member of the band Soophie Nun Squad, he now plays guitar for Universe.

I find this one exceptional.

A clever take on renaissance altarpieces. . Ok, maybe this one is my favorite. The frame here is a stuffed snake made by our goodfriend, Eli, a performance artist.

A piece from school. Probably Max's class considering the light.

We were both students of Assael and heavily influenced by him. I suppose we are similar as painters in many other ways, including an inability to settle on one thing thematically, stylistically, or geographically. I think that's great. We are writing a book together, but I won't tell you what it's about yet.

Lovely color study.

I own this one. One of his best drawings I think.

I find this one powerful an psychologically charged.

This was a collaboration. The model for the painting did the background.

Ye Olde Classmates: Nicolas Uribe

I probably learned as much from Nicolas at SVA New York as I did from my instructors. I wrote a little bit about this and posted some of his old student paintings on Cefaloblog. I rarely have met a student so serious about his work. Contrary to what most people assume by looking at his work, there is nothing weird about Nicolas. He's quiet, well-spoken, and totally nonchalant about most things. As you'll find on his blog, he's not interested either in self-absorbed artspeak or haughty classical ideals. His website seemed to be under construction last time I tried, but maybe you'll have better luck.

I have often debated in defense of Nicolas Uribe's paintings, and have come to realize that his work actually defies many things I profess to believe about art. Yes, the photo is totally present. Yes, they are largely cool, ironic, witty, clever and hip. Why, then, does it stand up to me as great painting? On the surface, the subject matter seems a shield against experience or emotion, but I don't think that's the case. Nicolas loves human skin, and sincerely loves the tactility of representing it in oil paint, and everything else is beside the point. In my opinion it is that impulse above all that drove most of Art History.

Art theory and philosophy aside, Nicolas paints like nobody's business, and I can't stop looking at them over and over again. But he's not merely a copycat or renderer. The thing I probably enjoy most about his work is the exploration in it. He's constantly pushing his own boundaries and looking for ways to challenge himself.

Nicolas is a great draftsman too.

I had never seen someone paint over reproductions of masterpieces before Nicolas, at least not in a well-done and interesting way.

The one above is a long-time favorite of mine.

Teachers Of Mine: Steven Assael

I mean seriously. Steven Assael renders (no pun intended) me speechless. His talent is epic. He has a passion and a work ethic unlike anything I've ever seen. He is a gentle soul and a good friend.

I studied with Steve at SVA my senior year, and continued to study with him privately during my years in New York. Steven is a student of Max Ginsburg and Harvey Dinnerstein, other painters I greatly admire.

Seeing this painting at his 1998 show at Forum Gallery changed my life. This is one of the best figure paintings I've ever seen.

Amy's favorite, "Amber Ray".

Watching Assael paint is similar to watching a professional wrestling match between a paint brush and globs of gloppy wet paint. Although in reproductions one is mostly aware of the level of realism, when viewed in person there is quite a lot of abstraction in the paint. Threads of pure and half-mixed color can be seen in the strokes. Steve loves to pile on the flake white and thickly layered wet glazes with a honey-thick medium that creates a jewel-like effect on the surface. His unorthodox technique normally involves a superloaded fan brush or round sable shifting about masses of paint the way a sculptor models form in clay.

Steven Assael is well-known for making ballpoint pen a serious drawing medium. He handles it quite like silverpoint, and often adds washed in layers of color and tone.