Introduction
 

My name is Scott Bartner. I am an artist living in Maastricht, The Netherlands. I was formally a financial analyst who early in his career, discovered he had made a big mistake, and at the age of 26 began my first drawings and paintings, perhaps as a form of rebellion.

Now at 42, I am approaching my ten-year anniversary as a full-time professional portrait painter and am quite pleased with the fact that I've successfully staved off starvation, homelessness, fondness for drink, and many other unpleasant attributes associated with this profession. My obsession though with art books is still being addressed.

I came across this remarkable forum and when reading some of the technical questions asked by artists, thought it might be nice to contribute in some small way. There is no replacement for the daily act of trial and error, or the benefit of a kindly, competent instructor, but sometimes a few words can put someone on the right track. And owing to the fact that there are so few traditional portrait painters in this country who wouldn't rejoice in seeing me swept away by an errant windmill blade, I hope I may submit now and then, a work for critique and general reaction. I can take it, and my blood pressure is still low.

I hope you have the opportunity to visit my website (www.bartner.com) You may notice a difference in my work than with what you are used to seeing. This comes primarily from the underpainting/glazing technique I now use. I did in fact study wet-in-wet portaiture with a former student of Nelson Shanks, but was more intrigued with the notion of building up a head in layers, as opposed to experimenting with color studies. My real teachers these days are the 19th century masters, most recently Carolus-Duran (Sargent's teacher) who I saw in Lille, France and was impressed with his insatiable desire to try new things. I should also confess that while I am a traditional artist, I have learned a great deal from modern masters like C

Welcome to the Forum!
 

Beautiful website! You paint very sensitive portraits, and what a drop-dead still life! I'm now tempted to play with the red chalk on bluish paper: you've inspired me. In addition, as someone who mined data and did the programming for financial analysts in a large brokerage firm for almost 20 years, I can relate to your past. And as for consulting the input of modern painters like Cezanne, I'm finding new inspiration from them that can lend innovation and freshness to my current work. Once you've mastered the craft of drawing and painting, there is no reason not to experiment with fresh approaches. I hope to see your posts often. Best wishes!

Hi Scott!

Welcome to the forum.

Nice work!

Greetings, I too am a recovering financial analyst.

Thank you.
 

Thank you Catherine, Mike D.& Mike M. for your greetings, and to those who took the time to visit my website. As I spend more time investigating this forum I realize what a wealth of information exists here. If only there were more hours in a day...

Sincerely,

Scott Bartner/Maastricht

Hoi Scott,

Leuk d'r nog een andere Nederlander bij te hebben hier. Mooi werk. Mooie web-site ook.

Peter

(I just told Scott in Dutch he should paint a kangooroo at least once in his life).