Alain J. Picard (born April 30, 1974) is an American figurative,

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

, and

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

and writer. He resides in

Southbury, Connecticut Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, sub ...

Early life

Born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, he earned a bachelor of arts in illustration from

Western Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System. WCSU consists of four schools: the Anc ...

and studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

Career

Influenced by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

, and

Joaquín Sorolla Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida ( va, Joaquim Sorolla i Bastida, 27 February 1863 – 10 August 1923) was a Spanish Valencian painter. Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes and monumental works of social and historical themes. Hi ...

, Picard's work has been featured in

The Artist's Magazine ''The Artist's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine for artists formerly published by F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio. The magazine was founded in 1983 and claims a circulation of 60,000. The founding company was Fletcher Art Services. F&W Publications ...

and The Pastel Journal and has been recognized by The Portrait Society of America, The Hudson Valley Art Association, The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, The Connecticut Pastel Society, and The Pastel Society of America. In 2004, The Artist's Magazine highlighted Picard as one of the 20 contemporary artists “On the Rise.” In 2009, Picard's work was recognized with the “Best Portfolio Award” by the Portrait Society of America. He has written a series of art instructional books for Walter T. Foster Publishing, owned by

The Quarto Group The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

, including: *Pastel Basics: Learn fundamental techniques for using this fun and colorful medium (2014) *Mastering Pastel: Capturing the beauty of the world around you in this colorful medium (2015) *Beginning Drawing: A multidimensional approach to learning the art of basic drawing (2016) In addition, he has hosted a series of art instructional DVDs and videos for the Artist's Network, owned by

F+W Media F+W, (formerly F+W Publications and F+W Media), was a media and e-commerce company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1913, F+W published magazines, books, digital products (including e-books and e-magazines), produced online video, offer ...

, including: *Painting the Figure in Pastel (2014) *Capturing Light and Color: Landscape in Pastel (2014) *Capturing Light & Form: Still Life in Pastel (2014) *Pastel Techniques for Painterly Portraits (2013) *Painting Skin Tones in Pastel (2013) *Essential Techniques for Pastel Portraits (2013) In 2013 and 2014 he collaborated with Terry Ludwig Pastels to create two unique Picard pastel sets. Alain is a judge and juror of international exhibitions, and a sought-after workshop instructor.

Selected Works and Gallery

File:The Recital Alain J. Picard.jpg, "The Recital" File:Alex Alain J. Picard.jpg, "Alex" File:South of Broad Alain J. Picard.jpg, "South of Broad" File:Glorious Alain J. Picard.jpg, "Glorious" File:India Alain J. Picard.jpg, "India" File:Kevin Alain J. Picard.jpg, "Kevin" File:Solomon's Bride Alain J. Picard.jpg, "Solomon's Bride" File:Evelyn Rwanda.jpg, "Evelyn", Reflections of Hope: Rwanda File:A New Day Rwanda.jpg, "A New Day", Reflections of Hope: Rwanda File:Looking Up Rwanda.jpg, "Looking Up", Reflections of Hope: Rwanda File:Am I Beautiful? Cambodia.jpg, "Am I Beautiful?", Reflections of Hope: Cambodia File:Sunrise Over Kampong Cham.jpg, "Sunrise Over Kampong Cham", Reflections of Hope: Cambodia File:Apsara Dancer Cambodia.jpg, "Apsara Dancer", Reflections of Hope: Cambodia

External links

Alain J. Picard official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Alain J. Painters from Connecticut American portrait painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists 1974 births Living people American male painters