At Realism Live recently, Eric Rhoads and Peter Trippi awarded artist Dawn Whitelaw with the Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award. Enjoy the following presentation that honors her journey:

Early Influences and Education

Dawn Whitelaw was born in 1945 to a mother who painted and wrote poetry, and a father who was a surgeon with a strong artistic side. Even her younger brothers are creative to this day.

While painting didn’t come into Dawn’s life until later, she was a ‘maker’ from very early on. Eventually, her father offered to pay for her college education in the arts, but with the agreement that Dawn would also pursue training as a teacher, which she says was “out-of-the-box thinking for a girl in the 60’s.”

She went on to earn a BA at Nashville’s Christian-focused Lipscomb University, LU, in 1967. There, she met Clay Whitelaw, with whom she later married and had their daughter, Benja.

And despite the fact that she swore she’d never teach, it turned out to be something she truly has a passion for to this day.

First Steps Into the Art World

Dawn augmented her LU training by taking printmaking and sculpture classes at George Peabody College, which is now part of Vanderbilt University. Having trained primarily in graphic design, she duly landed a job creating pen-and-ink illustrations for the Yellow Pages.

Next came employment in a small advertising firm, then a stint as interim art director for a Nashville magazine. In 1987 she decided to “up her own game” by attending workshops all over the country. She was an enthusiastic and quick learner. On the side, Dawn taught as an adjunct at LU through 1999.

Mentorship and Artistic Growth

In the following years, Dawn took workshops with Raymond Everett Kinstler, whom today she describes as her mentor. She says, “I can’t even tell you how he shaped my path as a painter. I asked him, ‘How can I be a better portrait painter?’ And he replied, ‘Get out and paint the landscape.’ And that led me down another wonderful path.”

A visit to Dawn’s studio will reveal that she paints not only landscapes and portraits but also interiors, architectural paintings, still life, and even abstracts and experimental works.

Today most of the paintings she sells via galleries are landscapes — some created entirely en plein air. Dawn is unapologetically devoted to a late-19th-century aesthetic that highlights the way light and colors capture our eye.

Connecting with Portrait Subjects

When it comes to portraiture, Dawn says that along with sketchpads, paints, and brushes, one needs to bring sensitivity. Kinstler taught her the importance of aspects such as the way subjects tend to hold their head or posture, or what topic makes their eyes light up. Whenever possible, Dawn travels to meet her sitters, sketching them on site, taking reference photographs, talking with them about their interests, and seeing the clothes and backgrounds they prefer.

She brings the same attentiveness to detail to her landscapes. She says, “You might see a pretty scene, but what was it that made you want to paint it? The more you can connect personally and emotionally with the subject, the more it carries over to the canvas.”

Continuous Learning and Inspiration

Although Dawn continues teaching, she still attends workshops offered by others and is inspired by her peers and students alike. She says, “I learn more than just what the teacher is teaching, but also how students react to different approaches. This experience fine-tunes my own teaching.”

Dawn’s approach reminds us that learning never ends — there is always more growth ahead, no matter how talented one already is.

Dawn Whitelaw is a member of the Plein Air Painters of the Southeast, the Chestnut Group, Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, and the Artist’s Fellowship. She has been featured as faculty for Plein Air South and the Plein Air Convention and Expo. In 2016, the American Impressionist Society elected her to Master status and she has a painting in the permanent collection of the Rahr-West Art Museum.

From Fine Art Connoisseur

It is our pleasure to present Dawn Whitelaw with the Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award.

See more from the artist at www.dawnwhitelaw.com.

View more artist and collector profiles here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

Realism Live, the world’s largest online realism art training event, is taking place this November 13-15, 2024.

Hosted over 3 days, more than 20 of today’s most accomplished artists are ready to help you take your art to the highest levels.

Here’s What Realism Live Means for You and Your Art:

• Watch, learn, and paint with the best: You’ll be right there with the top artists, seeing every brushstroke, every technique — step-by-step, up close and personal. It’s like having a front-row seat, no matter where you are.
• Faculty art auction: Bid on works from your favorite contemporary artists.
• Interactive learning: This event isn’t about passive watching. You’ll get to ask questions during live Q&A sessions, participate in group discussions, and even join virtual breakout sessions to connect with other artists.
• A community of like-minded artists: One of the most powerful aspects of Realism Live is the opportunity to connect with hundreds of other artists. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been painting for years, you’ll find support, encouragement, and a creative network that lasts long after the event ends.
• Access to replays: Can’t make every session live? No problem. You’ll get access to the event replays, so you can watch the demonstrations again and again, at your own pace.

There are three ticket levels to choose from so you’re sure to find one that meets your needs and budget.

Find out more about Realism Live and register today at RealismLive.com.

Read: Unforgettable Moments From Realism Live

The 5th Annual Realism Live is a virtual art conference for artists, art lovers, and collectors. Watch and interact with world-renowned artists as they demonstrate their skills November 13-15, 2024, with an optional Essential Techniques Day on November 12.

Included is an exclusive faculty art auction, pre-event seminars, breakout rooms, a paint-along cocktail hour, and more.

This year’s faculty includes: Juliette Aristides, Suzie Baker, Ben Bauer, Yana Beylinson, Lyn Diefenbach, Michelle Dunaway, Steve Forster, Kristy Gordon, Thomas Jefferson Kitts, Angus McEwan, Kami Mendlik, Michael Mentler, Carol Peebles, Mary Pettis, Mark Pugh, Matt Ryder, Sarah Sedwick, Daniel Sprick, Anthony Waichulis, Dawn Whitelaw, Zhaoming Wu, Vincent Xeus, and Zane York, hosted by Eric Rhoads and Peter Trippi.

When you attend Realism Live, You Have The RARE Opportunity To…

• Learn from dozens of the World’s Top & Most Accomplished Realism Painters.
• Streamline your realist painting skills through in-depth painting demos. Learn in 3 days what normal students take over a decade and tens of thousands of dollars to study.
• Paint along with your favorite Realism Masters and connect with other artists from all over the world, right from the comfort of your own home… No travel, airfare, meals, or hotel needed!
• Receive premium Instruction in Figure, Portrait, Landscape, Still Life, Flowers, and more!
• Witness how your favorite Realism artists start, work through, and finish paintings and drawings.
• Discover the go-to materials and equipment that the World’s Greatest Realism Artists are using today –– Material list included!
• And Much, MUCH More!

Click here to visit RealismLive.com and register now!

In the first-ever global virtual art conference for contemporary realism, hundreds gathered online to learn from today’s master artists. Realism Live took place over four days (as well as offering a Beginner’s Day) with live presentations and interviews, recorded demonstrations during which the artist interacted in an ongoing chat room with all the viewers, and nightly Cocktail Hours and Paint Along sessions.

Included was an exclusive faculty art auction with works from 90 artists who have been on the faculty as well as many other esteemed Streamline art events. Next up is Watercolor Live in January 2024! We hope to see you there!

Highlights from the 4th Annual Realism Live

In a special presentation, we awarded Max Ginsburg with the Fine Art Connoisseur Lifetime Achievement Award. This was followed by a fascinating interview with Max and Peter Trippi, during which Max shared his inspirations for 10 of his powerful narrative paintings.

In one of the highlights of this year’s Realism Live, Peter Trippi had an on-camera conversation with Burt Silverman on his approach to art making. Burt shared insights on how his early life influenced his body of work, which he felt was an important preface to how he approaches subjects such as the nude figure.

With a focus on simplification, Pat Fiorello taught us how to paint realistically without getting caught up in all the details. She used a two-stage approach to paint a still life of yellow roses.

C.W. Mundy gave us a lesson on painting “3-D realism,” a process that begins with taking a photograph of a highly dimensional scene, creating depth perception by having the camera pull the main subject into focus while softening the background elements. Using this type of photo reference, C.W. then walked us through his painting process in great depth.

Nanci France Vaz is both an artist and a storyteller through her portrait paintings. Her demo was titled “Imagine” and focused on creating an illusion of reality for the “imaginative portrait.” Nanci used a photo reference of her model, who is a singer/songwriter on the road. Their intention was “bohemian spirit,” inspired by Nanci’s current solo show at Dacia Gallery (NYC).

“There are a lot of tools, but there are no rules,” explained Glenn Vilppu in his encouraging workshop on how to draw, titled “Beginning of a Journey.” Glenn used an iPad to demonstrate how you can go from a stick figure to a gesture drawing, from a “snowman” to a recognizable human form. He says, “There are absolutely no restrictions on what you can think or imagine.”

Wende Caporale is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America. In 2019 she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award along with her husband, Daniel E. Greene N.A., from the Figurative Art Convention (FACE). For her Realism Live demo, Wende shared her techniques for painting a portrait with pastels, beginning with a schematic drawing in charcoal on a textured surface.

Remember to save the date for Watercolor Live, which will include another faculty art auction, and much more for artists and art enthusiasts: WatercolorLive.com

For artists, art lovers, and collectors: Watch and interact with world-renowned artists as they demonstrate their skills at Realism Live this week. Hosted by Publisher Eric Rhoads and Fine Art Connoisseur Editor-in-Chief Peter Trippi, Realism Live is the world’s largest online realism art event, with in-depth demonstrations, interviews with today’s masters, networking opportunities, and more.

Included is an exclusive faculty art auction with works from 90 artists who have been on the faculty as well as many other esteemed Streamline art events. The auction is open Monday, November 6 until Saturday, November 11, 2023, 11:59 EST.

From the 2023 Realism Live Auction:

Join us now at RealismLive.com; replays are also available but the auction ends Saturday, so don’t wait.

“For 25 years I’ve made my living as a painter. Others sometimes called me an artist, but I lacked the confidence to think of myself as such. A couple of workshops here and there just left me frustrated. While stuck at home, I had a lot of time to think about the direction I wanted to take. An ad for Realism Live popped up on my FB feed one day and I signed up. It was a real turning point for me. The quality and variety of instruction was amazing! Even better was the way they fostered “community.” When they announced Realism Live, I immediately signed up, not even knowing what that might mean. Once again, I was blown away by the whole experience. Thank you to everyone involved in creating this unique and wonderful Art experience. I am forever grateful!” ~ Sally Bowers

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View more fine art auctions and sales here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.