2003-02-14
Artist finds his niche in portraiture
By Donna Christopher
NEWS-TIMES CORRESPONDENT

Until recently, Bethel resident Alain Picard had a spacious studio in Danbury where he painted commissioned portraits of people and fine art, and carved a career as an illustrator for advertising and book publishing companies.

But the newly married Picard has settled with his wife, Mirjam, in a third floor apartment of an old Victorian house on South Street in Bethel, where his attention is now focused on producing fine art and portraiture.

A studio in the apartment the artist renovated displays many of his fine art pieces, including one in progress. Eighty percent complete, it is a portrait of Mirjam, with whom Picard had a 3-year, long-distance romance while she completed university studies in her native Germany, until their marriage last year.

Alain Picard works on a pastel drawing of his wife, Mirjam, in his Bethel studio.

An earlier painting of Mirjam, an assistant teacher, is titled, "Radiance,” and won top prizes in two regional juried art shows: The Hudson Valley Art Association and The Connecticut Pastel Society.

A series of recently finished paintings by the artist, who prefers pastels because the medium is "fresh and direct,” are based on two sisters of Sri Lankan descent that live in Danbury and are friends of the artist.

"Flirtation in Red,” a portrait of a young woman in a sari with dark wavy hair and a scarf of red with gold threads draped across one shoulder, is an exquisite example of Picard’s ability to fuse color and emotion. The painting was created as a demonstration piece for The Artist’s Magazine, which will feature Picard in an article this spring. A companion piece, of a ballerina, is part of the series.

"I’ve always had an appreciation for diversity, ethnic beauty,” Picard said, "and as an artist you get excited about seeing all different types of people.” He credited his mother with helping him "acquire my love of people” and attributed the trait to much of his success.

Picard uses both live models and photographic references in his approach to a painting.

"I look for a direction when I’m starting a painting, an emotion, a feeling I want to portray. After considering, "anatomy, proportion, features and gestures,” he aims to capture "that fleeting moment, a rare expression revealed.”

When a piece is nearly done, the artist leaves it for a day or longer, then goes back and looks at it again. "I evaluate it and try to answer a series of questions. Did I convey the purpose I set out to in the painting? Does anything bother me about the painting? Is the drawing accurate? Is the composition strong? If I can say, yes to these, the painting is done.”

His work has been described as having a "photographic quality,” Picard said, but the artist strives to impart a feeling in his paintings that stops short of realism. The technique is called "painterly realism.” The "realistic” part of the approach, he explained, "aims to proportions,” while the "painterly” quality emerges when the artist allows the pastel or brush marks to remain visible.

"When you see the actual energy of paint laid on canvas, you react to the painting emotionally,” he said.

Picard grew up in Bethel and attended private school (in Trumbull) up to 10th grade, finishing up the last two years at Bethel High. Not many years ago, the 28-year-old Picard was a left-handed pitcher for Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College in Waterbury, where he earned an associate’s degree. He went to Western Connecticut State University, where he majored in illustration and graduated in 1997, and continued playing baseball until his senior year.

It was at that point his "obsession with baseball” took a back seat to his art. "People had always told me I had a talent for art,” Picard said.

At college, he began working on a series of celebrity portraits and painted famous people like Yitzhak Rabin and Mother Theresa for his own pleasure. He started to get commissions for his portraits.

"My instructors were encouraging me to consider a career as an illustrator,” he said.

After graduation, he began illustrating for local publishing houses and ad agencies, while handling a steady stream of commissioned portraits. He has also studied at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

"When you graduate, it’s not like there’s an internship from Walt Disney waiting for you. You have to stay productive and believe you’re an artist,” said Picard, who finally feels "a real sense of consistency” professionally, now in his sixth year since college.

"I realize that I have a vocation and have fallen in love with creating fine art,” said the artist, who is represented by The Gregory James Gallery in New Milford.

He is a member of the Connecticut Pastel Society and won awards at that organization’s exhibits in 2001 and 2002. His work has won numerous top awards at regional juried art shows throughout New England. Picard’s paintings were accepted at the Grand National Exhibition sponsored by the American Artists professional League at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. He won "Best in Show” awards at the President’s Show sponsored by the Kent Association in 1999 and 2000. He was also a finalist in two categories in the national competition titled "Pastel 100” sponsored by The Pastel Journal in 2001 and was featured artist in the January/February issue of that publication.

 
Artist Alain Picard of Bethel discusses his work. Behind him is a pastel drawing of his wife, Mirjam, that he is working on.

Picard often gives painting demonstrations to area arts organizations. In December, he demonstrated portrait painting techniques in a Watertown Art League program, painting the portrait of a local artist in the audience and describing his technique step-by-step.  

Lorraine Skelsky-Chapin, Watertown Art League president called Picard "an amazing artist. I was very impressed with his work,” she said. Picard will be at the Candlewood Art Association in New Fairfield on March 17 and give a demonstration for the Society of Creative Arts of Newtown April 23.

To view examples of Alain Picard’s work, visit the Web site www.picardstudio.com