[Sharon Knettell]

Marvin,

I did have the wonderful opportunity to study with a wondeful painter when I was young. The time spent in that studio working from models, testing out color ideas, etc., working side by side with other students was an experience that can never be duplicated. I felt I was alive for the fist time. Unfortunately the Boston Museum School which I attended was woefully lacking in the areas I was interested in, namely figurative art. They were and still are in the throes of abstract expressionism. I know how to paint with sand.

I went on to be an illustrator, as that was the only way I knew I to support myself and still draw people. I had one of the best agents, Gerald and Cullen Rapp. Boy did I make a lot of money! I couldn't get out of my studio.

It was a very usefull period in that I had to learn photography. There is not a fabric or bug I cannot render. It was great in that I learned how to light and pose models. However it was all slick surface and no guts.

Going back to painting has been difficult but rewarding. I still get calls now and again for illustration but it does not interest me in the least.

What I think is particularly embarrassing is somehow we have given the impression that this field is so easy, that all you have to do is render accurately from photos, and voila, another portrait artist. We have some very educated people on this forum and they know the effort, time and sacrifice it went into building their careers. Why do they think it is any less effort to become an accomplished artist?

I have gone without food, rent money, health insurance, rattled around in old and unsafe cars, you name it, to pursue the privilege and joy of being the best artist I know how to be.

Marvin, we may not agree on the details, but we agree on the guts.

Sincerely,